Six UCPD officers were terminated Tuesday after being investigated for falsifying their location while on duty.
The officers, who remain unidentified, frequently spent time in a mathematics library in Evans Hall while reporting they were patrolling elsewhere. The officers had been on paid administrative leave since Oct. 31, and they also had a hearing in March.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office did not charge the officers with time theft. The Mercury News reported that the officers will take their cases to arbitration.
According to campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore, police officer personnel matters are confidential.
According to the Mercury News, a seventh officer, Lawrence Green, resigned during the investigation. Green claimed that UCPD Chief Margo Bennett was “sexist” in hiring and is an “absentee chief.”
A retired UCPD officer said he believes the firing is excessive. The officer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Mercury News that officers need “downtime” and cannot be expected to go “100 mph for 10 hours a day.” The officer added that this behavior is common during midnight shifts and is “fine” as long as officers are answering their radios.
Retired Oakland police chief Wayne Tucker, however, told the Mercury News the main aspect of the case is the officers lying about their location. Tucker said this behavior constitutes a “character flaw” and an “integrity violation.” Tucker added that there are some behaviors that could result in an end of one’s career in law enforcement, one of those being found culpable for lying.
According to the Mercury News, UCPD has fewer than 40 sworn officers.
“We expect all our officers to be out working, as assigned, protecting our campus community,” Gilmore said in a previous interview with The Daily Californian. “The university also takes retaliation allegations very seriously and prohibits taking action because employees complain of misconduct.”