Bad pig - Police Chief Ralph Tranter you don't get a donut! Original Article Investigation finds police chief violated ethics code Tranter supported councilwoman's son as private citizen, he says by Grayson Steinberg published on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Tempe's police chief violated city ethics and conduct codes, according to a report released Tuesday, but he won't be immediately disciplined. City Manager Will Manley said he hadn't decided whether or how to discipline Chief Ralph Tranter and didn't specify when he would make a choice. "The chief is still on the job," Manley said. Tranter was investigated after he wrote a letter recommending probation for a councilwoman's son. Colby Carter, the son of Councilwoman Barb Carter, pleaded guilty to charges of marijuana production and possession of drug paraphernalia earlier this month. He was then sentenced to two years' probation. The report stated Tranter wrote the letter because he was impressed with Carter's recovery. By that time, Carter had completed drug counseling. Barb Carter told investigators Tranter didn't write the letter because of her position on the City Council or her votes supporting the police department, according to the report. "Both Tranter and Barbara Carter consistently advised... that it was entirely Tranter's idea to write the letter," the report said. Colby Carter attended ASU from August 1999 to December 2005 but did not graduate, according to the University registrar's office. The investigation found Tranter violated the police department's code of conduct and the city ethics code, the report said. Police employees are not allowed to participate in behavior that keeps them from doing their job, the police code states. Lynn Krabbe, deputy county prosecutor, called the police department to ask about the letter's author on Nov. 2, the report said. Krabbe asked a police department employee why the chief of police would have written such a letter. That employee was "embarrassed and confused" by the phone conversation and seemed to feel he lacked support in the investigation, the report stated. This conversation may have harmed the department's ability to make future sentencing recommendations, according to the report. Penalties for code violations include employment suspension and dismissal. Nikki Ripley, a city spokeswoman, said Tranter wouldn't comment at this time. Tranter wrote the recommendation letter last October after a lunch meeting with Barb and Colby Carter, according to the report. The letter wasn't written on city stationery and didn't identify Tranter's position. Tranter told investigators he had written two similar documents, including one for a defendant who had been arrested on drug charges. Tranter reportedly asked James Martin, Colby Carter's attorney, not to identify his job. "It was not his intent to use his position to influence the criminal case," the report said. Tranter reportedly added he had "written the letter as a private citizen, 'as one parent to another parent.'" Tranter's letter didn't ultimately change the case's outcome, the report stated. Tranter didn't tell the city manager about the document until Manley brought it up. A police employee told Manley about the letter in November. Tranter wrote in a Dec. 12 memo to Manley he wasn't trying to avoid responsibility for his actions. He said he knew it was difficult to distinguish between his private and professional roles in this situation. "I obviously need to be more judicious in the future to avoid the detrimental effect this situation has on employee morale," Tranter added. Reach the reporter at grayson.steinberg@asu.edu.