How many times do you get to screw up and still keep your job?
Officer Scott Morales is walking on thin ice after his latest violation.
Police Chief Rusty York says he suspended Morales for five days without pay for problems with "alertness on duty."
[. . .]
While the offense may not be a major one, it further tarnished the record of the 19-year veteran, who has now been suspended for the 14th time since 1991.
Morales' last suspension was in February, after he was accused of inappropriately using a taser on an individual who was already handcuffed. He received a three-day unpaid suspension for that incident.
Prior to that, Morales was accused of going absent without leave multiple times, being involved in several accidents with his police cruiser, falsifying reports, excessive force and searching a home without a warrant.
When asked why Morales has been allowed to keep his badge, York explained that discipline problems are handled with a "progressive system."
I would have guessed that it was obvious long before the 14th violation that the officer wasn't going to be improved by attempts, as York put it, "to correct any behavior." Some of the violations are minor, but things like falsifying reports and using excessive force certainly aren't. If this is an example of how their "progressive system" works, maybe it needs to be looked at.
