Port St. Lucie, Florida, Probe: Ex-evidence chief took golf club, ring home
Dr. Kardasz -
Read the following report and consider:
1. Which typology of unethical behavior was exhibited by the accused?
a. Why did you choose that typology?
2. Which decision making process might have prevented the accused from making the wrong decision?
a.Why did you choose that decision making process?
Typologies of unethical behavior - http://kardasz.org/CorruptionTypologies.html
Decision making processes - http://kardasz.org/Decision_Making_Tools.html
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Port St. Lucie, Florida, Probe: Ex-evidence chief took golf club, ring home
By Teresa Lane, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer, September 09, 2006
Port St. Lucie, Florida — The head of the police department's evidence and records division has been suspended without pay for five days and reassigned after an internal affairs probe revealed he took home a golf club he had listed as destroyed evidence. Administrator Bill May, who remained on paid leave for two weeks in August while the probe was underway, also took a ring that was to be destroyed but said he intended to get it appraised to see whether the department could net more money from its sale, records show.
Although Internal Affairs Investigator Lt. Robert Fitch said there was insufficient evidence to prove May intended to keep the items, he said several department rules governing evidence were violated, constituting a "serious breach of evidence protocol and procedure." The case began Aug. 14 after an evidence technician saw May document a True Flex Stylist 9-iron as having been destroyed before taking the club to his office. The employee said she overheard May say the club would be good for his son. May admitted taking the club home but said he simply wanted to measure its length next to his son's arm to see whether it was the right size.
Police Chief John Skinner, who upheld the violations Friday, said the incident has prompted him to alter the department's procedures for disposing of property. Now, technicians must document whether surplus property is sold to an online auction company, trashed or placed into use by police employees. May, who earns $85,738 yearly, will continue in his role as supervisor of the records and information technology departments, but Major Gary Robinson is overseeing the evidence and property sections, Skinner said.
A property audit conducted in 2005 revealed that several pieces of evidence were not properly disposed of, or the instructions concerning the handling of evidence was not followed according to evidence cards. The audit showed May received a Rolex watch for appraisal but never signed for it, returning the item after 27 days without having it appraised. May told investigators he had made mistakes but never intended to take property for his personal gain. He has worked for the department more than 16 years.
Skinner said he didn't institute more stringent evidence protocols earlier because he trusted May, calling the administrator's actions "inexcusable". "It takes years to build trust and seconds to lose it," Skinner said. "The integrity of the evidence is critical."
Retrieved September 10, 2006 from http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/local_news/epaper/2006/09/09/m1b_slmay_0909.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=17