Officer Dwayne Johnson Paid $168K, Accused of Skipping Work

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.

"He made a lot of money because he was one of the few people here who volunteers on all occasions to work overtime," said Schenectady Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett.

He says police Officer Dwayne Johnson may have worked plenty of overtime, but after a Daily Gazette investigation, police are now investigating whether Johnson truly worked when he said he did.

"It should have been a member safety issue," Bennett said. "Some questions should have been raised when this car didn't move."

According to the Commissioner, on several Tuesday mornings, Johnson apparently parked his police car outside an apartment off Kings Road, not his residence, for several hours.

"What was he doing there?" our reporter asked.

Bennett said, "I don't know."

Schenectady police officials say they're looking into an investigation by the Daily Gazette, allegations that their top-earning police officer, who made nearly $170,000 last year with extensive overtime work, spent Tuesday mornings at an apartment in the city. Our Steve Ference reports.

This, as Johnson made more money than any other officer, around $168,000 last year, mostly from overtime. The department, now trying to figure out what Johnson may have been doing and why no one seemed to notice even though they track cars by GPS.

"Why was this not picked up on?" the Commissioner asked aloud.

Bennett says after the Gazette found Johnson was spending his early Tuesday mornings here, police prepared to catch him in the act. So they came here on a following Tuesday, but the problem was Johnson didn't show, leading some to wonder if he may have been tipped off by someone in the department.

"If we identify someone indeed interfered with this, which is a confidential investigation, they too will find themselves on the receiving end of disciplinary action," said Bennett.

"I can't think of any reason why this would be happening," said Schenectady Common Council Member, Barbara Blanchard.

A number of city leaders, like councilwoman Blanchard, call it disappointing, especially after a slew of scandals for police in the city, including stolen drug evidence and a former police chief pleading guilty to drug charges.

"Once we have pulled all the documents, all the GPS records and done all the interviews we can do, then he will be interviewed," said Bennett.

Department policies have been updated to address the issue, Johnson remains on duty and city officials argue potential bad conduct by the few shouldn't taint a department that's now looking for answers once again.

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