Audit finds no criminal issues at Polk PD
A report has come back from the Polk County Police Department that provides a clear answer to allegations made in past months via a letter from Sheriff Johnny Moats.
The summary of that report: there's nothing wrong with the police department that more manpower and funds couldn't fix.
County Attorney Brad McFall's audit report was expected to present the audit report follow- ing the Standard Journal's deadline, and comments weren't immediately available for this report from commissioners.
According to his findings, he interviewed 34 out of 36 officers with the department and found that the responses to a survey he put together to question officers about issues raised in a May 5 letter sent by Moats previously were overwhelmingly "indicate that a vast majority of the employees at PCPD do not perceive problems in the areas indicated in the Sheriff's letter."
That survey put together by McFall used a 1-10 scale to determine a rating for command staff, and asked yes or no questions on whether there was favoritism, acts of criminal activity and cover-ups, retaliation, lying, supervision and direction problems, gossiping and lack of coverage and support for the police department's patrol division.
It also pointedly asked whether the command staff should be replaced, and whether they had officer's trust. The command staff received a 7.9 out of 10 on the scale, with the upper end of the ratings better than the lower end.
The form also required officers to sign and date it at the bottom. Those original forms were not included in McFall's report.
The report didn't provide a unanimous majority among those officers interviewed. McFall stated that two of the employees he discussed issues with believed the problems raised were valid, and merit further investigation.
It did clearly state however that officers are extremely dissatisfied with the level of pay and the lack of manpower in the department. McFall reported that he was told repeatedly that "PCPD is the lowest paying law enforcement agency in the county and in surrounding counties" and that turnover and officer unhappiness all stems from pay.
"The survey responses clearly indicate that the county does not have a departmental problem at the Polk County Police Department beyond low morale based upon poor pay," McFall stated in the report.
McFall took the audit a step beyond just talking to current employees. He also was able to speak to four former employees according to his report, three of which he said had no different opinion about the issues raised by Moats' letter than those on staff. He did point out that two of those four did point to potential problems with favoritism, but McFall said they added the caveat that it also exists to some degree in all law enforcement agencies. Three of those former employees said they also trusted the command staff, with one stating they did have con- cerns about the admistrators in the department applying policy in a consistent manner.
"This particular former officer was vocally critical of the leadership at PCPD and felt like that many of the issues raised in the May 5 letter from the Sheriff were true," t he report stated.
Overall, McFall's report states clearly he feels there's no evidence to continue forward.
"The responses to the questionnaire reveal very little support for the allegations raised by the Sheriff's letter of May 5, 2017," the report stated. "In fact, the interviews suggest that two, perhaps three, employees of PCPD are extremely unhappy with the Command Staff but I saw no evidence that as many as "eighteen Police Officers are currently employed by the County Police" feel that they are working in a "pressure cooker" or that they feel like their work place is
comparable to "purgatory."
When asked about the audit, county manager Matt Denton said the commission would have to decide whether they will accept the findings and close the case, or continue to look into issues.
Responding to the report, Moats said he maintains his May 5 letter was only meant to get the county to look into the issue, and he said that if the county is happy with the results of the audit, he is happy to let the issue drop since he wasn't the one making allegations, but simply reporting them via 18 anonymous officers.
"My thought is that a bunch of people lied, or the audit process wasn't going to work the way it was designed to based on the fact that officers had to sign the bottom of the form," he said. "I wouldn't have been truthful if I were told I had to sign the bottom of the document."
Moats added that two of his former jailers - which he did not divulge the names of - previously left the Sheriff's Office to work as patrol officers in the Polk County Police Department, making better pay than they had while working for him. Those two officers have since returned to their former positions as jailers, taking the pay cut.
"People do leave for better paying jobs," he said. "But if it were all about the money, why would you come back to a lower paying job?"
Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd had no comment on the audit report at this time. County commissioners were also sought for comment, and only Commissioner Chuck Thaxton said he wished to have a more full discussion before he would make his feelings known.
All total, the county will spend somewhere around $4,025 for the audit conducted by McFall, who charged $175 an hour for the work based on 23 hours of interviews. On average, McFall is calculated to have spent around 40 minutes with each officer or administrator in the department.
‘The interviews suggest that two, perhaps three, employees of PCPD are extremely unhappy with the Command Staff but I saw no evidence that as many as “eighteen Police Officers are currently employed by the County Police” feel that they are working in a “pressure cooker” or that they feel like their work place is comparable to “purgatory.”
Brad McFall, County Attorney