Progressive Discipline and Holding Accountability
Progressive Discipline and Holding Accountability
Adam King
Liberty University
CJUS 830: Criminal Justice Organizational Conflict
Dr. Jonathon Zemke
May 16, 2025
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PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLIE AND HOLDING ACCOUNTABILITY
Abstract
Police agencies must deal with discipline to ensure that agencies can maintain public trust. This
must be done in a way that is deemed fair and equitable to the officers who make up the agency.
If it is believed that discipline is arbitrary and unevenly applied, dissatisfaction can begin to
spread, leading to turnover and a lack of production. If agency pay and benefits are good, then
these disgruntled officers will not leave. They will stagnate, and administrators may see bigger
risks pop up among their sworn personnel. Progressive discipline is a method in which officers
can know that policy violations are handled fairly and not in a heavy-handed manner. This
fairness will ensure that an agency keeps personnel from guessing the outcomes of disciplinary
matters.
Keywords: Police, discipline, progressive discipline, administrators
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Problem Description
Law enforcement agencies are made up of personnel who come from different cultures
and with their own stories. Personnel have their values that have been shaped by the chapters of
their lives. When they become part of an agency, they are putting some of that to the side and
joining something bigger than they are. The expectation is that there is a standard of conduct that
everyone is subject to, and if their conduct is outside of that standard, then disciplinary action of
some sort is to be expected. Agencies have encompassing policies that dictate the level of
discipline that actions are subject to and the process by which they should be administered.
When internal affairs find consistent violations of policy from certain supervisors and
nothing is done, stink and rumors run through an agency. Significant policy violations have been
found against a supervisor within the last six months. This is after the same supervisor has had
similar violations of policy that have been affirmed and sustained. A lack of progressive
discipline by the administration has hamstrung them and thwarted their credibility within the
agency. This has particularly affected other supervisors who strive to do the right thing and abide
by agency policy. The fallout of this has led to a distrust of the offending supervisor and a lack of
motivation by non-offending officers. Anecdotally, I have seen burnout creep in to the extent that
it has led to good officers looking for greener pastures. Data exists that backs this observation up
(Leonard, 2019). Administrations’ attitudes towards progressive discipline and general
accountability must change for my agency to trend positively.
Detailed Background
Sgt. Morris is the policy violator who has obfuscated progressive discipline during her
time with the department. Issues with Sgt. Morris has been documented since early 2014 when
her shift had multiple complaints filed by citizens from incidents related to how they talked to
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civilians. Sgt. Morris and Officer Ogg had the citizens of Commerce, Georgia, consistently
complaining about their language and aggressive attitudes towards people on calls. This lack of
discipline from these small grievances has fostered a feeling of invulnerability in her and her
shift. Officer Ogg had separate instances when he was acting alone and received only verbal
counseling from the chief. One instance occurred at a high school football when Officer Ogg saw
a student under the bleachers and began to curse him out. The 15-year-old's father caught wind of
this and contacted the chief. The chief met with Ogg, but no formal record of the incident was
kept.
Several months later, I was assigned to conduct an Internal affairs investigation of an
incident involving Officer Ogg, who was still working under the command of Sgt. Morris. Ogg
had insulted someone conducting a First Amendment audit and filming him while performing his
duties. The civilian was well within his constitutional grounds to do what he was doing. Ogg
took exception to him and went inside the business where he was running his Lidar. Ogg insulted
the civilian to the business owners by claiming that he was a child molester and solicited a
criminal trespass from them to get the auditor off their property. The auditor requested all the
footage and placed it on YouTube, along with the footage he captured. The response from the
auditor community was fierce and seemingly never-ending. As the investigator, I do not make
recommendations, but, found several sustained code of conduct violations and turned the file
over. The chief terminated the officer’s employment with us. His termination sent waves through
the department as our small department knew that there was no progressive discipline process
followed that would have justified the response from the administration.
The fallout from this seemingly quick trigger was that officers were hesitant to interact
with the community, and made them feel that any discipline enacted would have no precedent or
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be grounded in progressivity. It made it seem that discipline was arbitrary, which leads officers to
be distrustful of the administration. Terminations are going to garner a response from officers no
matter the situation. In my experience, they are usually seen coming as the officer involved has
had several noted disciplinary actions or the offense is egregious enough that officers can see the
writing on the wall. In this case, neither was believed to be the case by the officers.
Sgt. Morris’s behavior was not moved by the termination of an officer under her
command. Since the incident, it has been brought to my attention that she still tends to escalate
situations. In one such incident that was explained to me by an officer, she insulted a man inside
his own home during a verbal-only domestic. Anyone involved in law enforcement for any
amount of time knows that domestic calls are some of the most tense and rapidly evolving
situations that an officer has to deal with. They consistently involve officers interacting with
citizens in unfamiliar territory to the officer, and even in the home of the parties involved. Sgt.
Morris was speaking with the wife who just wanted to leave the residence for the night. Within
earshot of the husband, she stated something to the effect of, “Great, it is good you get away
from this idiot for the night.” Fortunately, her subordinate officer was able to keep the drunken
husband from causing a scene.
The Commerce Christmas parade was held at night in 2024, and most of the department
worked it, including Sgt. Morris and me. A lady fell off her float and her son came through town
at a reckless speed to get to her. I got out with the man and was explaining that emergency
personnel had the scene under control and his mom was going to be okay. Sgt. Morris, who saw
the man fly through town, came up to him while I was speaking with him and began to berate
him about his driving. This provocation did not play well, and the man began to argue back with
Sgt. Morris. She did not take the rebuttal and continued to argue and yell at the man. It was such
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an issue that I had to tap her on her vest so she would realize that her behavior was an issue.
Another supervisor got in between her and the man and walked the man away from her. To
clarify, other officers had to intervene to de-escalate the supervisor. Administration was made
aware, and nothing was done. Officers took note of this.
The most egregious situation occurred in mid-December of 2024. The Commerce Police
Department endeavors to assist other agencies in our area when we can. Jackson County
Sheriff’s Office began a vehicle pursuit for a traffic violation. Our policy is not to pursue
vehicles for such infractions. We will assist agencies as they come through our jurisdiction, no
matter the cause for their pursuit, but we will not continue beyond. That is our policy and
practice at least. Sgt. Morris continued past the city limits to assist the county. Our department
had two other officers on duty who also joined in the pursuit. Sgt. Norris acknowledged that they
joined the pursuit, and they all left the city limits long behind them while pursuing this vehicle
for traffic violations. Sgt. Norris instructed her two subordinate officers to conduct a box-in so
the fleeing vehicle would stop. The maneuver was attempted, and the fleeing vehicle attempted
to shoot a gap between the two Commerce vehicles. This led to a motor vehicle accident, leaving
one CPD vehicle totaled and another one out of commission for several weeks. I conducted
another Internal Affairs investigation into the matter and found numerous violations of policy,
including failure to supervise, incompetence, and pursuit-related issues. The completed report sat
in the Chief’s inbox for over a month before he abruptly announced his retirement. The
administrative lieutenant also chose not to do anything and left soon after. From private
conversations that were had with the administrative lieutenant, we both believed that a demotion
was at least in store for Sgt. Morris. The interim chief stepped in has only stated that the matter
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has been handled. Sgt. Morris has not received any reprimands, other than verbal ones, for her
list of transgressions at the Commerce Police Department.
Manifestation
Part of my role with the department is to run monthly reports and keep up with
accreditation standards. My role in the department puts me in contact with everyone in our small
department. People see me as a confidant and will share issues with me in hopes that they will be
placed on the administration's radar anonymously as not to cause animosity between co-workers.
The perks of being the internal affairs person is that I come across like Switzerland as a neutral
agent, only there to hold a mirror up to misgivings. In this role, I have seen productivity go down
from certain shifts surrounding these incidents. Of course, it is not enough to know if it is a
correlative or a causal relationship.
Agency morale is crucial to maintaining an effective department. It is expensive to
replace officers as basic training is six months, with an additional three months in field training.
Fairness is important to officers within an agency as the job is so psychologically unpredictable
(Hilal & Litsey, 2020). Hilal & Litsey also point out that positive opinions of organizational
justice led to higher job satisfaction and commitment. When considering the issues outlined, it
should not be a surprise that morale and the opinion of the agency among the officers are at a
perceived low. To date, the Commerce Police Department has been fortunate that officers who
have voiced their complaints to me have not endeavored to leave for greener pastures. Officers
are in line for a $5,000 raise come July 2025. This raise will ensure that we are the highest paid
in our area outside of metro areas. The pay, coupled with the great health insurance the city
offered, can only keep officers for so long before they believe the situation to be untenable for
them to stay.
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Previous Efforts of Resolution
Two chiefs ago, the Commerce Police Department had an excellent track record of
progressive discipline. Officers knew that continued acts of policy violation would eventually
lead to their termination. This chief utilized “last chance agreements,” where those who signed it
knew they were on thin ice. The agreement was signed after the officer had sustained policy
violations against them. Verbiage of the agreement made it clear that if any policy violation was
to be sustained upon the officer they would, not could, be terminated from employment. This
was clear and direct leadership that was precluded by progressive discipline practiced. Personnel
files from this administration indicate that progressive discipline documentation was completed
and placed inside personnel files.
The most recent chief who left the department had no such history of progressive
discipline. Any verbal or written counseling statements that were completed were all handled at
the lieutenant level. The agency head should place some onus on his staff to handle personnel
issues. In a private conversation with the previously mentioned departed administrative
lieutenant, it was clear that the firing of Officer Ogg was moved along and forced by City Hall.
This would be easier for agency personnel to swallow if this chief had progressive discipline
policies that had been utilized. The rumor swirled through the department that City Hall was
indeed responsible, which further undercut the trust in the department administration to do the
right thing.
The new Chief of Police for the Commerce Police Department started on May 12, 2025.
It is yet to be determined which route he takes. Upon the departure of the previous chief, the city
manager sent a survey that officers were anonymously allowed to fill out and submit their
thoughts on issues plaguing the agency. As is tradition, officers spoke openly about their issues
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and indicated that uneven disciplinary practices were a concern of theirs that needed to be
addressed. They stressed that lack of transparency from the administration created an
unnecessary distrust that could be resolved with open and clear lines of communication.
Administration is important to any police department. Their importance should not get in the
way of the most important part of the department, the officers themselves.
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References
Hilal, S. & Litsey, B. (2020). Reducing Police Turnover: Recommendations for the law
enforcement agency. International Jouranal of Police Science and Management. 22(1),
73-83. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355719882443
Leonard, E. (2019). Progressive discipline the right way.LReference and User Services
Quarterly,L59(2), 92-95.Lhttps://doi.org/10.5860/rusq.59.2.7272
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