POLICIES SHIELD SUSPECT COPS

Why did the Leland Police Department keep on duty an officer it knew was
the subject of a state and federal cocaine-trafficking probe? According to
officials in the Brunswick County town, their personnel policy made them do it.

Nationally recognized authorities on police practices say that under model
police policies used in some cities, Cpl. Brett Hobbs would have been
reassigned to a less-sensitive job or suspended with pay until the
investigation played out to ensure security and preserve integrity.

Cpl. Hobbs is free on $500,000 bond after being indicted for cocaine
trafficking and for obstructing justice.

He is accused of association with a drug gang whose members moved at least
100 pounds of cocaine from Mexico to Texas to Florida, and eventually, the
North Carolina counties of Brunswick, New Hanover and Columbus in 1999 and
2000 before he was a police officer.

A joint task force that included drug officers from Brunswick County and
the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, along with the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, handled the probe, dubbed "Operation Riptide."

While an indictment does not mean a person is guilty of a crime, it does
show that a grand jury believed there was enough credible evidence for the
case to continue to court.

Leland -- like several other cities in the Cape Fear region and nationwide
- -- applies the same policies to police officers that it does to other
employees, from floor-sweepers to department heads.

Unless, and until, an arrest is made, the question of whether to suspend
with pay or re-assign lies solely in the hands of police chiefs and city
managers.

Leland officials say that's just fine with them and acknowledge that their
policy treats all city employees equally. But that view is far from universal.

Burgaw City Manager Martin Beach said he is well aware that in public life
perception often carries the same weight as reality. His town's policies,
he said, do treat all employees the same but have provisions that cover
accusations. And discretion is used in Burgaw as well, he said, when police
officers are involved.

"Law enforcement has to be held to a higher standard," Mr. Beach said.
"With the power and authority that they have, they have got to be beyond
reproach."

Under Burgaw's provisions, an officer accused but not formally charged
could be placed on "investigative leave" with pay.

Extra leeway Wrightsville Beach has a personnel policy similar to Leland's.

Robert Simpson, the newly installed town manager, said Thursday that the
questions of whether police officers merit a higher standard or special
provision are valid.

"It would be nice to have a little bit of extra leeway," Mr. Simpson said.

Wilmington uses model policies recommended by the International Association
of Chiefs of Police, a spokesman said. There, as in many other cities
throughout the nation, special provisions exist in personnel policies that
recognize the special nature of police work and call for a higher standard
of accountability.

Beau Thurnauer, chief of police in Coventry, Conn., and author of a guide
to internal affairs practices for small police departments offered as a
model policy by the U.S. Department of Justice, is among law enforcement
professionals who say ita€ s dead wrong.

"I can' imagine an agency letting this guy work. How, in good conscience,
could you let a guy you think is being investigated by the DEA still work?"
Chief Thurnauer said, after learning specifics of the Hobbs case during a
telephone interview. "If you are looking at what the acceptable standard is
for performance in law enforcement nationwide this doesn't fit it. The
majority of police chiefs in this country would say this is unethical.
There is a morality issue and there is a legality issue, and those are not
the standards that the rest of the nation uses."

Several attempts to reach Leland Police Chief Osey Sanders for comment on
this article were unsuccessful. However, Leland Town Manager David Hewett
defended the town's policies and the decision to keep Cpl. Hobbs on the force.

"This is America, and in America you are innocent until proven guilty,"
said Mr. Hewett, noting that Leland's personnel policy allows for
suspension, demotion or dismissal of employees, for failure in performance
or failure in personal conduct.

Conduct unbecoming a public officer or employee -- as it is defined -- or
conviction of a felony or misdemeanor that would adversely affect
performance are among grounds for such official actions in the personal
conduct category.

Authorized to kill Leland's policy allows for a "non-disciplinary
suspension" without pay during an investigation, hearing or trial, but it
does not contain provisions for a forced paid leave.

Mr. Hewitt said that the investigation by state and federal authorities did
not trigger such a suspension. Leland launched its own investigation after
Cpl. Hobbs was indicted, which triggered this provision. However, Cpl.
Hobbs continues to draw salary in the form of vacation and compensatory
time, Mr. Hewitt said.

Several local police executives and city managers interviewed last week
were, for the most part, at a loss to explain how their specific policies
would guide their actions in a similar situation. Some said they would deal
with such a case on a situational basis, regardless of what policies said.

Officials in two local municipalities -- Burgaw and Wilmington -- said they
have specific provisions that would govern such an occurrence.

Police officers, who are authorized to use deadly force when necessary and
to detain citizens, must be held to a higher standard, Chief Thurnauer and
other law enforcement executives said.

A police officer who is accused of drug trafficking and remains on the job
could potentially have access to data about confidential informants, as
well information on pending drug raids and on personal details about fellow
officers.

Criticism of Leland's handling of the case is not limited to the concerns
of Chief Thurnauer, or other experts in distant places.

"Everyone is up in arms because they kept that officer on duty during that
investigation," said Oak Island Police Chief Tom Johnson, one of the few
local police executives interviewed last week to voice criticism on the
record. "We have to hold ourselves over and above. We hold police officers
in high esteem."

Bigger debate The broader issue of special treatment for police officers
"whether in a positive or negative light" was a hot topic of discussion
Thursday in Raleigh, where legislators heard testimony for and against an
amendment that would create extra protections for police officers accused
of crimes or misconduct.

Sponsored by Rep. Grier A. Martin, D-Raleigh, HB 1504 would establish
minimum procedures to establish due process of law for officers in criminal
and administrative investigations.

City managers and police chiefs are among the opponents to the measure,
dubbed the "Investigation and Discipline of Law Enforcement Officers bill,"
which they say would further tie their hands when misconduct against an
officer is alleged.

The legislation does, however, recognize suspension with pay as an option
for a chief whose officer is accused of improper behavior.

Municipal policies that allow for paid suspensions or reassignments
"similar to Burgaw's investigative leave practice" are in better stead to
weather problems that arise when a cop is the accused.

The Leland case, Chief Thurnauer and other law enforcement executives said,
is proof that municipalities need to examine their policies and that people
need to demand that their elected representatives take the job seriously.

"There is not a due process question; there is no loss of time and no loss
of wages. If the preliminary investigation runs its course, it runs its
course," Chief Thurnauer said. "You've got to pay the guy's salary. I
think it stinks for the taxpayers, but it is better that you retain the guy
and pay him."

Asked why anyone should care about what their town's personnel policies
are, or even bother to ask what they are, Chief Thurnauer said the answer
should be self-evident.

"If you are comfortable with unethical, disruptive, chaotic behavior then
that is what is right for you," he said.

Staff Writer Ken Little contributed to this story.