Officer Chris Thurman Accused of Falsifying Time Sheet

A Metro police officer is charged with official misconduct and theft by deception.

Officer Chris Thurman is accused of falsifying his time sheet and claiming overtime he may not have worked. That investigation is now jeopardizing more than 100 criminal cases he's handled the last several years.

"We have an obligation to notify defense attorneys of any pending matters that involve officer misconduct or false testifying," Leland Hulbert, the Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney said.

Court documents allege he "falsely reported overtime activity" and stole more than $10,000 from the city by "creating or reinforcing a false impression."

The question, now, is whether he falsified any other details while on the job.

"Right now, we're in the process of re-examining each case to determine how strong it is. We don't want to dismiss any cases we've indicted, but we understand we have to weigh the risk of calling an officer to the stand that has pending charges," Hulbert said.

The Jefferson County Attorney's Office said Thurman does not plan to attend any trial involving cases he investigated, but if called to do so, would simply plead the fifth. It's a statement that could hinder prosecution in a variety of cases from DUI to homicide.

"If he is the lead investigator on a case, we're going to re-evaluate his level of involvement," Hulbert said.

Defense Attorney Paul Gold has a handful of DUI cases Thurman investigated. He says these new charges will create a “big problem for prosecution.”

Regarding a DUI arrest, Gold says an officer must first have reasonable suspicion to pull a vehicle over and will then perform a field sobriety test. It’s during this time when the officer is the only officer on scene. He says Thurman was prolific for DUI stops.

“Without his testimony as to why he pulled someone over, it doesn’t matter what happened later on, because no one else can testify,” Gold said. “They’re going to lose some of those.”

Just last September, Thurman led an investigation of a fatal hit-and-run on I-64. Police say 31-year-old Chad McQuilling got out of his truck to fill up the gas tank when he was blindsided by another driver near the 9th Street ramp. The suspect in the case was never identified, but future charges could come to a halt with Thurman's indictment.

Thurman's arraignment is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 17.

Officer Chris Thurman Charged with Falsifying Time Sheet

A Louisville Metro police officer is facing charges of official misconduct and theft by deception after being accused of stealing from the city.

A Jefferson County grand jury returned the indictment against Officer Chris Thurman.

According to court records, Thurman allegedly stole $10,000 over a two year period by falsifying his time sheet and claiming overtime he may not have worked.

Thurman has been placed on paid administrative reassignment.

Officer Jeffrey Taylor Arrested for Falsifying Time Sheets

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested one of its own Wednesday.

Detectives arrested Officer Jeffrey T. Taylor after he turned himself in Wednesday evening.

Taylor is charged with obtaining property by false pretense, stemming from a criminal investigation which concluded Taylor falsified time sheets while working a secondary, off-duty job at the Arboretum Shopping Center between October 2012 and January 2013.

Chief Rodney Monroe released the following statement:

"The actions of this officer do not reflect the character of the dedicated men and women that wear the badge of the CMPD with honor.

The public deserves to know that the officers sworn to protect our community are of the highest integrity. We will continue to hold our officers to the highest standards and accountable for their actions."

Taylor is now on unpaid administrative leave pending a criminal and internal investigation. He was hired by the CMPD on April 26, 1989. He was assigned to the Metro Division and worked as a school resource officer at Phillip O. Berry High School.

Officer James Wade Charged with Falsifying Timesheets

A Bayonne police officer and second man surrendered to the Hudson County Sheriff's Office this morning on charges they falsified their timesheets while working as security guards at Global Terminal containerport on the Jersey City/Bayonne border, officials said.

Police Officer James Wade, 33, of Columbus Drive in Bayonne, and Steven Hogan, 53, of Maywood, then made their first appearance on the charge of theft by deception in Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City this afternoon.

Bayonne Police Chief Robert Kubert was shocked at the charge against Wade.

"I'd be surprised if it turns out to be a fact because he's one of my best officers, but we will see what happened down the road," Kubert told The Jersey Journal. "I'd be quite surprised if anything came out of it."

Waterfront Commission Executive Director Walter Arenault said both men were employed as port watchmen by the commission through a private security firm.

Both are charged with falsifying their timesheets to show they worked more hours than they actually did, and thereby being paid more money than they should have, officials said.

Eleven people have already been charged in the same investigation, which began more than a year ago and led to a warrant being signed this morning for the arrest of Hogan and Wade, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Karyn Pizzelanti.

Wade is the only police officer charged, she said.

The others charged have all entered into pre-trial intervention and if they comply with the terms of PTI, the charges against them will be removed from their record.

Arenault said the continuing investigation led to the charges against Hogan and Wade and he also said charges against additional people are possible.

Wade was not representing the Bayonne Police Department in any way at the time of the alleged crime, officials said.

Wade has been placed on desk duty following his surrender this morning and he will remain in the status pending a review of the charges by Bayonne police, Kubert said.

At today's hearing, CJP Judge Richard Nieto set bail for Wade and Hogan at $20,000 cash or bond for each and he then ordered them remanded to the Hudson County jail in Kearny.

Officer Amanda Perry Now Being Investigated for Embezzlement

FAIRFAX, Va.

Fairfax County police say an officer who was involved in a fatal crash is now under investigation for embezzlement and has resigned from the department.

Officials say 23-year-old Amanda Perry has been accused of falsifying her work time and attendance reports. Police say she had been placed on administrative duty after the February 2008 crash.

Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond Morrogh says he has not decided whether to charge Perry.

Fairfax prosecutors had charged Perry last year with reckless driving in the crash, which killed a 33-year-old teacher's assistant. Perry was found not guilty after a September trial.

Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

Sgt. Terry Stayer Investigated for Falsifying Time Sheet

HALTOM CITY

A police sergeant is under investigation after a complaint that she falsified her time sheet for the past six months, claiming she was at work while she was attending college classes during the day.

The Haltom City Law Enforcement Association filed the complaint against Sgt. Terry Stayer, who is over the police department’s internal affairs investigations. It alleges that the sergeant also had used a city-owned vehicle to attend classes during the day.

She is not allowed to use the vehicle, according to the complaint, filed with city officials last month and with the City Council earlier this week.

Attempts to reach Stayer were unsuccessful. An office voice-mail message indicated that the sergeant was out until Monday. An e-mail sent late Thursday by Interim Chief of Police Patrick C. Bridges said that Stayer could not discuss the matter because it is a pending investigation.

The 70-member association first made the complaint on Feb. 12 to then-Haltom City Police Chief Ken Burton and the city’s human resources department.

But it also sent the complaint to city council members Wednesday, unhappy with what the association saw as a lack of action on the matter.

“The HCLEA fears that this extremely serious and sensitive allegation is not being adequately investigated,” Haltom City police Sgt. Shawn Holt said in an e-mail to council members on Wednesday.

But City Manager Tom Muir said on Thursday an internal investigation should be complete in about 10 days. Muir said the city has retained Fort Worth attorney Bettye Lynn to investigate the complaint.

“We did get on it,” Muir said. “They (association members) are not happy because they wanted the Texas Rangers or another outside agency to investigate, but I decided to go with retaining counsel.”

The complaint alleged that police officials were showing favoritism toward the sergeant because she remains in her position as supervisor in charge of professional standards and is responsible for internal affairs investigations.

Last year, Stayer alleged that four other Haltom City police officers falsified time sheets, according to the complaint. At least one of the officers was placed on administrative leave, association members said.

One was charged with theft; charges against the other three were dropped, the complaint states.

Police officials told association members that Stayer would be working on Saturdays to make up the four hours needed to attend the college classes, according to the complaint.

But the complaint states that officers have not seen the sergeant on Saturdays and officers are not allowed to make up the work at home.