The Houston Police Department officer who pulls down more pay than anyone in the department outside of the chief is also one of the most reprimanded officers on the force. Last year, Officer William Lindsey Jr. grossed more than $170,000, including $100,000 in overtime, as a member of the HPD’s drunken driving task force. In his 27-year career, the department’s internal affairs division has upheld at least 32 allegations against Lindsey arising out of 23 separate complaints. Only 13 of HPD’s 4,760 officers have been involved in more “sustained” allegations.
The complaints against Lindsey include verbally abusing citizens, falsifying time sheets to reflect overtime he didn’t work and refusing to report for duty, according to the Houston Chronicle, which reported on his overtime last week. His punishment has ranged from being ordered to undergo counseling to being suspended for 15 days without pay. In nine of the complaints, Lindsey’s discipline included unpaid leave. Several law enforcement officials contacted by the paper expressed surprise that Lindsey is still on the job. Said one, “If the internal affairs file of an officer has 32 sustained cases, something’s wrong with (that department’s) system if he’s still employed.”
Link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3829763.html