WHEELING - Wheeling Police Chief Robert Matheny doesn't like the prospect of hiring an officer who left his last job to avoid being fired for misconduct.
It does happen, Matheny said. Police officers accused of misconduct are sometimes permitted by their department to resign, and the department then conceals that officer's record to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the agency.
"If we get an officer from another department, that department will sometimes tell you the officer worked there and nothing else," Matheny said. "We make (the officer) sign a waiver that we can get that information from the past employer, but sometimes (the past employer) won't cooperate.
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Wheeling Police Chief Robert Matheny reviews personnel files at the department. Matheny believes an officer’s “reason for separation,” or reason for leaving a department, should be sent to the Governor’s Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction immediately after he or she leaves a particular agency.
"They worry they will be held liable," he added. "I think they are more liable if they don't give that info."
Locally, the village of Bethlehem hired an officer this year who had resigned in 2007 from the Wheeling Police Department in the wake of allegations that he stole a counterfeit $100 bill from an evidence locker and tried unsuccessfully to pass it. That incident took place while Matheny's predecessor, Kevin Gessler, was chief.
The Intelligencer reported on July 29 that village officials were aware of Dan Griffin's past when they hired him to patrol their streets.
Griffin pleaded no contest in Ohio County Magistrate Court to a single count of destruction of property. He also had been accused of destroying an evidence intake report and a chain of custody form. He was fined $100 following the no contest plea, and charges of obstructing an officer and petit larceny were dismissed with prejudice.
Bethlehem Police Chief August Bankey said he knew of the circumstances surrounding Griffin's departure from the Wheeling Police Department prior to his hiring in Bethlehem. Bankey said village officials received a letter from the West Virginia Governor's Committee on Crime and Delinquency confirming Griffin still is a certified officer permitted to work in the Mountain State.
Bethlehem Mayor Garrett Daniel in July spoke highly of Griffin and said hiring him was the right decision.
"He's a good officer with great credentials," Daniel said. "He's a qualified individual, and I have confidence in that fact. Everybody makes mistakes in life. Second chances are deserved."
Matheny believes information about an officer's on-the-job conduct should not be a closely guarded secret, and a West Virginia lawmaker who also is a former sheriff seems to agree.
Sen. Bill Laird, D-Fayette, served four terms as sheriff of the county he now represents. He is considering ways to keep an eye on misconduct by police officers, and one plan may include a central database tracking disciplinary actions taken against police officers.
Matheny said Laird may be on to something.
"I kind of agree," Matheny said. "If an officer gets in trouble and is allowed to resign, they move on to another agency where they become someone else's problem."
Matheny believes an officer's "reason for separation," or reason for leaving a department, should be sent to the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction immediately after he or she leaves a particular agency. That information should then be available when the officer seeks employment at another department. He said police departments should have some accountability for allowing someone who may be a problem officer to sign on at another agency.
"The agency must report the facts," Matheny said. "That's how you alleviate the problem. When I left (the Clarksburg Police Department), they didn't have to notify anyone. If I would've been in trouble, there would have been no record of it. ... This would let the next agency know an officer left and also why they left. I've always kind of thought that's the way it should be."
West Virginia State Police Sgt. Curtis Tilley, chairman of a law enforcement training subcommittee in the governor's office, said police misconduct is rare.
He estimates that fewer than 1 percent of West Virginia's 3,500 or so police officers run afoul of the law.