Need back in 20 hours from now Cjus 520

Is Termination

the Only Response?

By Ronal Serpas, Superintendent, New Orleans,

Louisiana, Police Department; and Michael Hagar,

Captain, Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee,

Police Department

Over the decades, law enforcement leaders have been under

increasing pressure to answer the question, “What do I do

with a law enforcement employee who has been proven to

be untruthful in the workplace?”

Many departments have been confronted with significant and farreaching

court decisions that play prominent roles in this decisionmaking

process, as well as vigorous debates and lengthy court

battles with labor organizations around the issue of truthfulness

expectations in policy and disciplinary actions.

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued far-reaching

instructions on the conduct of federal law enforcement cases that

may involve local and state police employees who have histories

of being untruthful in the workplace. There have been articles

published in Police Chief magazine and other publications discussing

this issue. In light of these critical and evolving issues,

a recent decision from the Tennessee Court of Appeals analyzing

the procedures and practices of the Metropolitan Nashville

Police Department (MNPD), in Davidson County, Tennessee, can

be instructive.

Editor’s Note: When this article was originally written, Ronal Serpas

was the chief of police for Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee.

Between writing the article and its publication date, Serpas

accepted a new position as Superintendent of Police for the City

of New Orleans.

For the past seven years, the magazine has published articles

building on the knowledge base of this issue. Other articles

published by the Police Chief on the subject include “Brady

Is Middle-Aged—but Is Compliance in Its Infancy for Some

Agencies?” by Julie Risher (June 2008); “Should Police Officers

Who Lie Be Terminated as a Matter of Public Policy?” by Elliot

Spector, (April 2008); “Disclosing Officer Untruthfulness to the

Defense: Is a Liars Squad Coming to Your Town?” by Lisa A. Judge

(November 2005); and “Police Officer Truthfulness and the Brady

Decision,” by Jeff Noble (October 2003). This article adds to the

body of knowledge of addressing employee untruthfulness.