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Police chief, union spar over internal affairs probes

Investigations take too long, they agree, but differ as to why

By Andrea Damewood
Published: February 12, 2010, 12:00am

At least seven Vancouver Police Department officers have been placed on lengthy paid administrative leave during internal affairs investigations during the last six years.

? Cpl. Randy Braaksma: 12 months at a salary of $82,980 (ended Wednesday with his termination).

? Officer Jeff Wilken: 11 months at a salary of $68,463 (ended Sept. 1 with his resignation).

? Sgt. Dave Henderson: 9.5 months (ended Aug. 8 with allegations not sustained; he was returned to full duty). Salary unavailable.

? Officer Chris Kershaw: 8 months (ended with his termination April 2008). Salary not available.

? Lt. Doug Luse: 8.5 months (ended with termination in March 2007; he was reinstated by arbitration decision). Salary not available.

? Officer Navin Sharma: 6 months (ended with termination; status changed to retirement; reached $1.65 million settlement in September 2008).

At least seven Vancouver Police Department officers have been placed on lengthy paid administrative leave during internal affairs investigations during the last six years.

? Cpl. Randy Braaksma: 12 months at a salary of $82,980 (ended Wednesday with his termination).

? Officer Jeff Wilken: 11 months at a salary of $68,463 (ended Sept. 1 with his resignation).

? Sgt. Dave Henderson: 9.5 months (ended Aug. 8 with allegations not sustained; he was returned to full duty). Salary unavailable.

? Officer Chris Kershaw: 8 months (ended with his termination April 2008). Salary not available.

? Lt. Doug Luse: 8.5 months (ended with termination in March 2007; he was reinstated by arbitration decision). Salary not available.

? Officer Navin Sharma: 6 months (ended with termination; status changed to retirement; reached $1.65 million settlement in September 2008).

? Lt. Howard Anderson: 6 months at a salary of $41,000 (ended with termination in August 2004).

? Lt. Howard Anderson: 6 months at a salary of $41,000 (ended with termination in August 2004).

Vancouver Police Cpl. Randy Braaksma’s yearlong paid administrative leave was the longest in recent history and cost the cash-strapped city nearly $83,000 — but his case isn’t the only one.

Braaksma, who was fired Wednesday on charges of mishandling evidence, is one of at least seven officers who drew full paychecks during lengthy internal affairs investigations over the past six years, at a cost to taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars, a records search by The Columbian on Thursday showed.

Police administrators and the union agree that the recent investigations — which range from six months to a year — are dragging on far too long at the department.

But what’s causing the problem is a matter of contention that has spilled over into the police guild’s contract negotiations, which are currently under way.

Braaksma’s 12-year employment with the Vancouver Police Department was terminated just three days shy of a full year of paid leave, at a salary of $82,980, not including benefits.

“He broke the record,” Vancouver Police Officers’ Guild President Ryan Martin said Thursday. “That’s not something to be proud of by any means.”

Staffing woes

Salary information was not available Thursday for several of the officers, but the combined payroll cost of Braaksma, Officer Jeff Wilken and Lt. Howard Anderson while on their respective leaves totals $192,443, not including benefits. The average salary for a police guild member in 2009 was $86,714.

Officers must be paid until the allegations of their investigations are found to be true or false, Police Chief Cliff Cook said.

Under contract, the department has up to 90 days to finish an internal investigation, although there can be extensions.

What happens after that is where the union takes issue.

Martin said officers are languishing on leave because department officials sit on investigations for months after they’re done, waiting to hand down disciplinary decisions.

“They have an unlimited time frame to make a decision,” Martin said. “The clear stance that the guild has made from the beginning is the decision-makers are the ones that need to be looked at and held accountable.”

Cook said there are multiple problems that contribute to the length of time staff are placed on leave.

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Braaksma’s case — he was accused of keeping seized methamphetamine in his home gun safe for up to 18 months without properly documenting the evidence, along with several other allegations of evidence mishandling — was over 2,200 pages, he said.

Cook said his internal affairs department is too understaffed to turn such a complicated case around under a tight deadline.

There used to be another sergeant in the department, but due to union outcry about the lack of detectives at VPD, Cook said he moved that person to another department.

Two sergeants and a lieutenant now staff the department, he said.

“I would propose if I had an adequately staffed internal affairs division, (investigations) would come out in a timely fashion,” he said. “Again, the union is highly critical any time I’ve attempted to increase the size of that unit to increase efficiencies.”

Complicated policy

The internal affairs investigation policy is complicated, with many regulations requiring contact time limits and much required back-and-forth.

Several investigations could not begin until a criminal investigation was finished, which can take three to six months, Cook said.

“It’s unfortunate that we have thus far been unable to come up with mutually agreed-upon changes that could help reduce the timeline of internal affairs investigation,” he said.

Braaksma filed a tort claim saying the investigation was a direct retaliation for speaking up on behalf of former Officer Navin Sharma, who won a $1.65 million discrimination settlement from the city in September 2008.

His lawyer, Vancouver-based Greg Ferguson, who has also represented several other embattled VPD officers, said Wednesday that paid leave is nothing like a paid vacation.

“These investigations don’t need to go on for eight months, 10 months, a year,” Ferguson said. “There has to be a way to deal with these things that doesn’t cause such long-term stress and anxiety for these officers. You wake up every morning wondering if your career is going to be over. It’s not as if you’re out there playing golf.”

Andrea Damewood: 360-735-4542 or andrea.damewood@columbian.com.

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