Officer Degroot-Misuse of Time

8/2/2019 Officer Degroot-Misuse of Time

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To: P tl. Jared D eG roo,ry .F rom : Chief Cook ~D ate: Ju ly 9, 2008Re: Policy V iolationPtl . DeGroot ,It has been brought to m y atten tion again that you w ere absent from a s ch ed ule d c ou rtap pearan ce o n F rid ay , Ju ne 2 7, 2 00 8 at 2 pm . Y ou receiv ed w ritten n otificatio n fro mT am i A lexander, C ity A ttorney 's O ffice on June 16, 2008 as w ell as an e-m ail fromC ap tain P oo le o n Ju ne 19, 2008 that a special bench trail w as to be held in councilcham bers to hear the case The communications from the C ityA tto rn ey 's O ffic e as w en as C ap ta in P oo le w ere sp ec ific as to the date and tim e. Y our. fa ilu re to rep ort fo r co urt at th e ap pro pria te tim e is a d irect v io latio n o f G en eral O rd er1 4.3 .1 , U n au th or ize d U se o f T im e . This is th e th ird v io latio n o f th is p olicy y ou h av ecommitted.It is you r r e spon s ib i li ty to adhere to the notices issued by the C ity A ttorn ey 's office andm ak e e ve ry e ffo rt to be p r esent . Ifa co nflic t sh ou ld arise, it is your responsibility toc on ta ct th e C ity A tto rn ey ' s o ff ic e a nd m a ke o th er a rr an gem en ts .Inth is case failin g to ap pear fo r co urt a t th e ap pro pria te tim e resu lted in a fin din g o f UNo tG u ilty " in th is c ase . W h eth er it is Municipal C ourt or C ircu it C ourt you m ust m ake ev eryeffo rt to ap pear at th e ap pro pria te d ate an d tim e. I v iew th is in fractio n as v ery serio us an dex pe ct th at it will n ev er o cc ur a ga in .Y o ur s ec on d v io la tio n o f th is p olic y res ulte d ina (1) day (8 hours) s u sp e ns io n w i th outp ay , b eca us e th is is y ou r th ird v io latio n o fG .O . 1 4.3.1 I am su sp en din g y ou w ith ou t p ayfor a period of one (1) day (12 h o ur s). P le a se consult with Lt. C ou ltas as to th ea pp ro pria te d ate th is s us pe ns io n w ill occur.Ina dd itio n y ou a re d ire ct ed to rep ort to C ap ta in P oo le reg ard in g y ou r p erfo rm an ce.S ho uld y ou w ish to d iscu ss th is m atter, p lease co ntact m e.

C c: M ayor T endickC ity A tto rn ey B ea rdC h arle s H e it brin k: C h airm a n F ir e a nd P olic e C omm is sio nCap ta in P oo leLt. CoultasSgt S ea n Wa lk er 1' l . .11DfDeGrootPIF

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INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM

TO: CHIEF DON COOKFROM: CAPTAINSTEVEPOOLESUBJECT: POLICY VIOLATIONDATE: JUNE 30, 2008

PtL Jared Degroot was scheduled for fiMunicipal Adjudication hearing on Friday, June 27, 2008 at~, but failed to appear on time. The hearing was conducted and the defendant, __ was found "Not Guilty" on a charge of Public Intoxication due to a lack of evidence as theresult of no complaining witness.Pt L Degroot arrived at approximately 2:15 p.m. after the hearing had concluded. Afterward, PtI.Degroot came to my office and stated during a previous conversation with City Attorney TimRupple, Atty. Ruppel told Pd. Degroot the hearing was scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Pd. Degroot statedhe had written the time in his personal planner. Pd. Degroot pointed out that he appeared die daybefore for a hearing at 2:30pm, which is the normal time for trials. Today's hearing was a specialsetting at 2:00 p.m.I called Attorney Ruppel and spoke to him about his communication with Pd. Degroot prior totoday's hearing. Attorney Ruppel stated that while possible, he does not recall speaking to Ptl..Degroot in advance about this case and nor telling him the trial was scheduled for 2:30 p.m.Attorney Ruppel further stated he would not say a conversation didn't take place, but just doesn't.remember it. Attorney Ruppel pointed out that Pd. Degroot received written notice of the trialscheduled for 2:00 p.m.. .I personally placed the notice of the hearing in Ptl. Degroot 's mailbox as well as sent him an emai ladvising him of the hearing and the 2:00 p.m. time. If,in fact, Ptl. Degroot was told by AttorneyRupple the case was scheduled for-2:30 p.m., but had received multiple notices of the 2:00 p.m.setting, Pd. Degroot should have taken the initiative and responsibility to ascertain the correct time.He did not do so.Pd. Degroot completed his timesheet in advance made an overtime entry for court on this date at2:3"0p.m..

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Attached are the following;Memo dated June 16,2008 from Tami Alexander to Ptl. Degroot giving notice of the trial.Email dated June 20, 2008 from Capt Poole to Pt1. DegrootEmail Receipt for June 20, 2008 emailMunicipal Court Docket for June 27, 2008Municipal Court Finding, Decision, and OrderPtl. Degroot timesheet for June 27, 2008Copy of offense reportApril 28, 2004 Suspension LetterMarch 24, 2004 Letter of Reprimand

Ptl. Degroot has a history of this policy violation. Pd. Degroot received a Letter of Reprimand onMarch 24,2004 for Unauthorized Use of Time for failing to appear in court on March 22, 2004. OnApril 28, 2004, you suspended Ptl. Degroot for a period of one day for Unauthorized Use of Timefor failing to appear inCourt on April 20, 2004.I recommend Ptl: Degroot be suspended without pay for a period of two days . .

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To:. F rom :Da te :Re:

.. Ptl. Ja ro d D eG ro otC~ef C opk '" (?ro J v,Apri128 2 0 4 , ~Po lic y V i ola tio n

Ptl. DeGroo t ,, It has been b rough t to my atten tion again .tha t you w ere absen t from a 'schedu led court appearance on Tuesday A pril 20 , 2004 at 10 :00 am . Y ourfa ilure to repo rt fo r cou rt a t the ' app rop ria te tim e is a d irec t v io la tion ' o f ,G enera l O rd er 14.3.1 , Unauthorized Use of T im e. Th is is the second,v io la tion w ith in one m onth . ' "It is your respons ib il it y to adhere to the s ummon s issued by the S ta tes ,' , .A tto rney o ffice and m ake every effo rt to b e p resent Ifa conflic t shou ld 'arise , it is YOM r.esponsibilitv to contact th e ~A 's office and m ake ' o therarrangements .Fa iling to appear for cou rt is a serious in frac tion and quite possib ly cou ldhave jeopard ized a case . Iiew this in frac tion as very serio us an d ex pect thatitwill nev er o ccu r again .A s Iw arned in m y p rev io us le tter, "fu tu re in frac tio ns o f this k in d w o uldresult in m ore serious d isc ip line", B ecause th is is you r second v io la tion o fG .O . 14.3.1 I am suspend ing you w ithou t pay fo r a period o f one (1 ) day.P le ase c on su lt w i t h , Lt. W illner as to th e appropriate d ate th is su sp en sio n Willoccu r. ' . . - : : ~....In -add ition you are d irec ted to repo rt to ,C ap ta in P oo le regard ing y ou r '..per fo rm?D.ce ., " , . , " ,'S hou ld you w ish to d iscuss th is m atter, p lease 'con tac t m e. .,.":'

C c: M ayor T end ickC ity A ttorn ey B eardC a pta in P o ole, L t. W i lln erDeGroo tPIF

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To: , Ptl. Jarod Deflroot , F rom : ... C h ief C ook ~

Date: March 24, 2004

" .. _,,'

Re: Letter of Reprimand . '-. . ..." '.

P tl. D eG root, ', ," ,

First I would, like to compliment you for t h e excellent work yotihave done'as member of this department. Your professionalism in dealing with thepublic and your.dedication to the department. is to be commended. ',,''.' , . " ,',: 'However" 'it has been brought to my attention that you were absent from ascheduled court appear~ce on Monday March 22, 2004 at 1:15 pm. Yourfailure to report for ~courtat the appropriate time is a direct violation ofGeneral Order 14.3.1, Unauthorized Use' of Time.It is your responsibility to adhere to the summons issued by the StatesAttorney office and make every effort to be present. Ifa conflict shouldarise, it is your responsibility to contact the SA~,soffice and make otherarrangements.Failing-to appear.for court is aserious-infraction and quite possibly.could ..:,:,",.': , :


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Jacksonville Police Department200 W.Douglas Jacksonville, IL 62650 (217) 479-4630

On Tuesday, July 15,2008 at 2:30pm there was a meeting at the Jacksonville PoliceDepartment to discuss several issues that had come up concerning P t l . Jared Degroot.Those present at this meeting were Capt. Steve Poole, Sgt. Sean Walker, Ptl. JaredDegroot, FOP Representative Jerry Lieb and Myself.Capt. Poole started the meeting by addressing the issue ofPtl. Degroot missing ascheduled court appearance on June 27,2008. This is the third time that Degroot hasmissed court since coming on the department and he was given a 12 hour suspensionwithout pay from Chief Cook for this violation. Degroot was given the opportunity toexplain his side of the situation and stated that he had contacted attomey Tim Ruppel andwas advised by Ruppel that the court time was at 2:30pm. All of the othercorrespondence that Degroot had received from the City Attorneys' office and from Capt.Poole had the court time as being 2:00pm. When Degroot arrived at court at 2: 1Spm hiscase had already been called and dismissed. Degroot stated he re-contacted Ruppel whostated he remembered talking with Degroot but could not say for sure what time he toldhim to be at court. Degroot was advised by Capt. Poole it was his responsibility to calland check to find out the correct time to be at court so that this type of incident did notoccur.After finishing the discussion about the missed court Capt. Poole explained to Degrootthat 4 ~ hams camp time would be removed from his Camp bank due to his not being atcourt at the proper time. His late arrival did not guarantee his receipt of the time since hewas not able to meet his requirements as a police officer for the city. Degroot did notagree with this but after speaking with Lieb they decided that they would speak in privateafter the meeting to determine what actions they may take.The meeting then turned to some of the aggressive actions that have been noted by Sgt.Walker from Degroot that have resulted in numerous Resisting a Peace Officer arrests.Degroot was asked ifhe is having trouble keeping things from becoming personal for himwhile performing his duties as a police officer. Degroot admitted that he had spoken toWalker and told him that he is feeling "burnt out" on the department. When asked what ismaking him feel that way Degroot responded with "when you keep getting complaintsfiled against you for doing your job it gets to you", Walker gave an example of a situation.of an intoxicated person that was verbally abusive towards Degroot who ended up beingarrested by Degroot for his actions. Several minutes were spent explaining that youcannot let the job become personal for you and you need to keep your actionsprofessional. Degroot denied having any anger issues and stated that he never lets otherpeoples words get to him. Other examples were brought to his attention including somestatistics from previous months where Degroot had an extremely high number of resistingarrest charges. Degroot adrriitted that it was odd for him to have such a difference inoffenses but he felt it was just a fluke.

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The final subject that was covered with Degroot was his interest in Martial Arts fighting.Capt. Poole explained to Degroot that it is well known and documented from statementsthat Degroot himself has made that he is more interested in his training than his job inlaw enforcement. Degroot stated that his training is his passion and he does spend most ofhis free time training. Capt. Poole told Degroot that he needed to turn his passion forMartial Arts around into a passion for his job here with the city and most of his problemswould correct themselves. Degroot was told to take the philosophy from his training ofcompassion and defense and use those to his advantage and not follow the path of beingon the offensive all of the time. Ifhe would use those tools he should be able to have abetter impact with the community. It was explained to Degroot that the public has a verydifferent opinion of how we should do our job compared to the actual way we must do it.When asked ifhe cursed while on the job Degroot stated he had cursed but he deniedever using any curse word towards anyone while on a call.At 3:30pm the meeting ended. I spoke with Capt. Poole and stated that I am going tomeet with Degroot on Wednesday, July 23,2008 and discuss my concern with him inprivate about his feeling burnt out. Inmy meeting with Degroot I will explain to him theservices that are available to him throug]; and the steps he can take to getassistance./..:I.~~Lt. Brian Coultas

Documents

Officer Degroot-Misuse of Time