Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Getting closer …
Remember that one story I was doing a pee pee dance of joy about? No not the one, the other one? A hint can be found below (and no telling, TIMMY!):
SCHERERVILLE — Schererville Police officers who have take-home cars will now have to at the very least restrict the amount of driving they do off-duty.
Citing insurance liability, the Schererville Police Commission on Tuesday voted 3-2 to restrict the policy to no more than 225 personal miles a month and no civilians in the cars unless it’s for town business. Currently, the policy allows the 48 Schererville officers to drive 300 miles in their off-duty time.
Before the vote was cast, Commissioner John Fladeland objected to the measure.
“We’ve investigated this, and we’ve looked at the liability and felt it did not outweigh the benefits,” Fladeland said. “I’m not going to move this department backwards.”
Police Chief Dan Smith was disappointed in the ruling but said that the department would continue the program however the commission wished. Assistant Chief Dave Dowling and Schererville FOP President Hieland “Buck” Weaver, however, targeted their remarks at Commissioner Pete Sormaz, who is a Gary police officer.
“I’ll respect the ruling, but I’m disappointed that an officer would vote against us,” Weaver said as police officers attending the meeting cheered him on.
But Sormaz didn’t appreciate being singled out by his peers.
He said the commission was trying to protect itself. “You don’t want 55 percent of your paycheck going toward insurance so you can have civilians ride in the car.”
Commission Chairman Werner Zacharias agreed. “A police car is not for shuttling the kids around, running errands or going to the grocery store,” he said. “That’s not the intent.”
But Fladeland said that take-home cars increase police exposure, giving citizens a “warm, fuzzy feeling” when they see a police car, no matter what the officer may be doing.
In other business, the commission voted unanimously to hire one new police officer but deferred on making a decision on a second officer, Christopher Lopez, because the department is still conducting a background check.
Lopez was formerly an officer with Schererville but resigned November 2, 2001. Commission Attorney John Bushemi said he was aware that Lopez resigned but had no knowledge as to why.
“The Police Commission authorized conditional employment offer subject to a background investigation by the chief July 13, 2004,” Bushemi said. “If any prior records exist regarding an investigation into Lopez, they are department records and not disclosable to the public.”
Zacharias declined to comment on the matter, deferring to Bushemi.
Oh, whatEVER.
Posted by Broad •
Things I shouldn't do as an objective reporter •
That so rocks. I am SO looking forward to seeing these nimrods get what they deserve.
have you sen the schererville new town ordinance that prohibits unfettered outdoor cats? Yes, your cat must be on a leash outdoors. $130 fine per occurrence. I want to find out who is responsible for this.