STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

CRIMINAL JUSTICE STANDARDS )

AND TRAINING COMMISSION, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 88-5829

)

MELVIN WILLIAMS, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, final hearing in the above-styled case was held on March 28, 1989, in Orlando, Florida, before Robert E. Meale, Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings.

The parties were represented as follows:

For Petitioner: Joseph S. White, Esquire

Department of Law Enforcement Post Office Box 1489 Tallahassee, Florida 32302

For Respondent: Stewart Cohen, Esquire

Pilacek & Cohen

1516 E. Hillcrest Street Suite 204

Orlando, Florida 32803 BACKGROUND

By Administrative Complaint dated July 19, 1989, Petitioner alleged that Respondent arrested Donna Jackson but failed to deliver her promptly to the Sheriff; instead, Respondent took her to his home and had sexual intercourse with her. The Administrative Complaint alleged that Respondent, while employed as a police officer by the Orlando Police Department, observed Ms. Jackson and another woman smoking marijuana in his presence without taking any action. The Administrative Complaint alleged that Respondent unlawfully touched or struck Ms. Jackson against her will.

The Administrative Complaint alleged that Respondent failed to maintain good moral character, in violation of Section 943.13(7), Florida Statutes.

Petitioner sought an appropriate penalty as provided in Sections 943.1395(5) and (6), Florida Statutes.

By Answer to Administrative Complaint dated August 4, 1989, Respondent admitted that he took Ms. Jackson home and had sexual intercourse with her before delivering her to the sheriff Respondent admitted that he observed Ms. Jackson and another woman smoking marijuana, but he was not on duty and the

incident occurred outside of his jurisdiction. Respondent admitted that he had sporadic altercations with Ms. Jackson, but these were in the nature of domestic disputes during a longtime intimate relationship.

At the hearing, Petitioner presented one witness and no exhibits.

Respondent presented 13 witnesses and six exhibits. Respondent withdrew Exhibit 2, which consisted of a large number of love letters, and was to file a select number of these letters within 10 days after the completion of the hearing.

Exhibit 2 was not refiled and is deemed withdrawn. All exhibits were admitted into evidence.

Neither party filed a proposed recommended order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Respondent was born on February 4, 1957. He attended the Orlando Police Academy from March to June, 1980. Academically, he ranked eighth among the 47 recruits. He received the Mayor's Award for overall performance.

   
   

2. In 1980, after graduating from the Orlando Police Academy, Respondent joined the Orlando Police Department. He completed his field training without incident and then was assigned to patrol duty.

   
   

3. After about six months, Respondent, who was already serving as an instructor at the Orlando Police Department, was requested to be an assistant squad leader. An assistant squad leader performs all of the duties of the sergeant when the sergeant is absent.

   
   

4. After about six months as an assistant squad leader, a major asked Respondent to become field training coordinator in the training section. After a year on this assignment, Respondent was promoted to sergeant and then spent another year on the road as a patrol sergeant.

   
   

5. At this point, the major in charge of the field operations bureau of the patrol division, asked Respondent to become his administrative assistant. Respondent served two majors a total of about a year in this position. Respondent was on track toward entering management in the police department.

   
   

6. After a year as an administrative assistant, Respondent was assigned to the criminal investigation division where he was in charge of the youth section. This was Respondent's position when he left the Orlando Police Department in the middle of 1986.

   
   

7. In early 1985, Respondent met Donna Jackson while he was working off- duty. At this time, Respondent and his wife had been separated since late 1983 or early 1984. After the initial meeting and before any additional encounters, Respondent ran a background check on Ms. Jackson and found that she had been on probation about three years earlier for possession of a controlled substance.

   
   

8. When Respondent informed Ms. Jackson that her background precluded any relationship due to his employment, she began crying and told him that she had been trying to put her life back in order. That evening, Respondent and Ms. Jackson commenced an intimate relationship.

   
   

9. A few months into the relationship, Respondent learned that Ms. Jackson had been misleading him and was not trying to get her life back together. By August or September, 1985, the relationship began to deteriorate. Ms. Jackson

   began to consume alcohol heavily and having male visitors late at night. Respondent and Ms. Jackson began to fight. The domestic disputes occasionally involved some physical contact, but the contact was insubstantial.

   
   

10. One evening, Respondent and Ms. Jackson had gone to a nightclub in Seminole County where they met a woman who invited them to a party at her residence. As they began to leave the parking lot of the nightclub, Ms. Jackson and the woman lit up a marijuana cigarette. Respondent immediately objected and insisted that he and Ms. Jackson go home, which they did. However, Respondent, who lacked the power to arrest Ms. Jackson and the woman because it was a misdemeanor outside of his jurisdiction, did not report the incident to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.

    
    

11. At this point, Respondent learned from Ms. Jackson's mother the severity of her past drug problems. Respondent broke off the relationship at this point, expressing a desire to remain friends only.

    
    

12. By April, 1986, Respondent had not seen Ms. Jackson for a couple of months. Ms. Jackson's mother telephoned and told him that Ms. Jackson had taken a turn for the worse and had lost her apartment. Ms. Jackson, who was abusing drugs heavily again, and her young daughter were living on the streets. Ms. Jackson's mother begged Respondent to help them.

    
    

13. At about this time, Ms. Jackson had been arrested in Orlando for driving without a license. She had asked that one of the officers contact Respondent. When he spoke with Ms. Jackson, Respondent assured her that he would try to help her as a friend.

    
    

14. Released before her court appearance, Ms. Jackson failed to appear in court. Having spoken with Ms. Jackson's probation officer about the possibility of admitting her into a rehabilitation program, Respondent informed Ms. Jackson that he would arrest her if he saw her driving because he knew she no longer had a license. Respondent and the probation officer thought that such an arrest might help them find a place for Ms. Jackson in a program.

    
    

15. Respondent later saw her driving an automobile, arrested her, and contacted her probation officer about placing her in a program. However, she bonded out, of jail before they could do anything.

    
    

16. Shortly after Ms. Jackson was released from jail, the probation officer caused an arrest warrant to be issued for Ms. Jackson for violation of the conditions of her probation. Again, the intent was to use this means to find her a place in a rehabilitation program.

    
    

17. The morning that the violation-of probation warrant was issued, which was on or about September 23, 1986, Ms. Jackson's mother telephoned Respondent and told him that she knew where Ms. Jackson was. At that point, the probation officer informed Respondent that a facility had a bed available for Ms. Jackson if they could detain her involuntarily.

    
    

18. Respondent immediately found Ms. Jackson and arrested her. A minor scuffle occurred between Respondent and a female companion of Ms. Jackson, and Respondent soiled and tore his suit.

    
    

19. Respondent then began to transport Ms. Jackson in an unmarked vehicle to the booking department. After learning that they did not yet have the violation-of-probation warrant, Respondent pulled the car over and he and Ms.

    Jackson began to talk about why she had refused his help. Ms. Jackson then asked if Respondent would take her to see her mother before taking her to jail. Although they were near the booking department at the time and Ms. Jackson's parents lived 5-10 miles away, Respondent agreed to take her to see her mother before going to jail.

    
    

20. While at the parents' home, Respondent, who is a careful dresser, noticed for the first time the condition of his suit as a result of the earlier scuffle. When they left the parents' home, Respondent decided to drop by his apartment in order to change his clothes before taking her in for booking.

    
    

21. While at the apartment with Ms. Jackson, Respondent was unable to resist her entreaties to have sex with her one more time. Following sex, he took her to the booking department where she was processed on the violation-of- probation warrant.

    
    

22. Upset that Respondent had arrested her and refused to let her go, on October 9, 1986, Ms. Jackson falsely accused Respondent of raping her when they had intercourse in his apartment on the day of her arrest. Respondent cooperated fully with the internal investigation and candidly answered all questions asked of him. He resigned from the Orlando Police Department at that time.

    
    

23. Shortly after this incident, Respondent began to see his estranged wife again and, about two or three months later, they were reconciled. Until Ms. Jackson's false charges were resolved, Respondent worked as a salesman for Cablevision of Central Florida where he quickly emerged as one of the top three sales representatives. He also underwent extensive counselling with his pastor at church and other ministers. Several of the ministers testified at the hearing as to Respondent's good moral character, notwithstanding the obvious mistakes he made with respect to his relationship with Ms. Jackson.

    
    

24. The state attorney declined to prosecute the case and the charges were dropped in June, 1987 Respondent immediately began applying to other police departments for a position as an officer. After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally was offered an entry-level officer's position with the Titusville Police Department. Although he had made about $37,000 during the past ten months as a salesman, he agreed to an $18,000 annual salary with the Titusville Police Department because of his love for law enforcement.

    
    

25. Respondent is currently assigned to the tactical unit of the Titusville Police Department. His record has been exemplary. His performance under pressure, including on one occasion the fatal shooting of another officer, has been outstanding, and he has assumed a significant leadership role among the officers in the department.

    
    

26. Numerous law enforcement officers testified on behalf of Respondent. Several testified that domestic disputes of the type in this case are not uncommon among law enforcement officers. Several testified that they would have done nothing under the circumstances had they observed Ms. Jackson and the other woman smoking marijuana outside of their jurisdiction.

    
    

27. The testimony of three witness has been given considerable weight. Ms. Jackson's parents testified to her manipulativeness and, more importantly, the positive effect that Respondent had had upon her. Regrettably, they testified that she has not recovered from her battle with drug abuse and they were, at the time of the hearing, unaware of where she was living.

28. Titusville Police Chief Charles Ball, who has been in law enforcement for over 20 years and chief of the department for 10 years, testified that the revocation of Respondent's certificate would represent a loss to the Titusville Police Department and law enforcement generally. Chief Ball testified that Respondent is of good moral character, even considering the poor judgment described above.

    
    

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

29. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

    
    

30. Petitioner has the authority to revoke the certificates of law enforcement officers for the reasons set forth at Section 943.1395(5), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1988). Among the grounds for revocation is that the certified officer fails to maintain good moral character. Section 943.13(7), Florida Statutes.

    
    

31. In the event that a certified officer is found not to have good moral character, Petitioner may, instead of revoking his certificate, suspend the certificate for not more than two years, place the certificate on probationary status for not more than two years, require additional training, or issue a reprimand. Section 943.1395(6), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1988).

    
    

32. Petitioner is required to prove "the material allegations by clear and convincing evidence. Ferris v. Turlington, 510 So.2d 292 (Fla. 1987)

    
    

33. In the present case, Respondent is guilty of poor judgment with respect to commencing a relationship with Ms. Jackson and, more importantly, behaving in the manner that he did on the day of her arrest. This behavior must be judged, however, in the context of Respondent's general character and work in law enforcement.

The isolated and minor incidents of domestic altercations and the failure to report marijuana smoking outside of Respondent's jurisdiction do not demonstrate a lack of good moral character. They represent, at worse, a lapse of judgment.

Respondent has demonstrated a consistent pattern of outstanding law enforcement work. He has trained numerous other law enforcement officers and has shown a solid commitment to, and aptitude for, law enforcement work. Prior to the incident involving Ms. Jackson, Respondent was not deficient in character. Following the incident, however, Respondent's character has strengthened as he has reconciled with his wife and 11 year-old child, reinforced his religious commitments, and overcome considerable adversity in persevering until he found an entry-level job in law enforcement where he could begin the process of rebuilding his professional career.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing, it is hereby

RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered dismissing the Administrative Complaint.

ENTERED this 9th day of May, 1989, in Tallahassee, Florida.

ROBERT E. MEALE

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, FL 32399-1550

(904) 488-9675

Filed with Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 9th day of May, 1989.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Stewart Cohen, Esq.

Pilacek & Cohen

1516 East Hillcrest Street Suite 204

Orlando, FL 32803

Joseph S. White, Esq. Department of Law Enforcement Post Office Box 1489 Tallahassee, FL 32302

Jeffrey Long, Director

Criminal Justice standards and Training Commission Post Office Box 1489

Tallahassee, FL 32302

Daryl McLaughlin, Executive Director

Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission Post Office Box 1489

Tallahassee, FL 32302

Rodney Gaddy, Esq.

General Counsel

Criminal Justice standards and Training Commission Post Office Box 1489

Tallahassee, FL 32302

Docket for Case No: 88-005829

Orders for Case No: 88-005829