Bob Gualtieri, Florida Sheriff, Fires Four Deputies For 'Excessive Loafing And Idling'

Four Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies have been fired for "excessive loafing and idling."

A sheriff in southwest Florida has fired four veteran deputies for violating general orders and policy by shirking their official duties.

According to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the men intentionally concealed their patrol vehicles and disconnected agency-required GPS tracking devices. They would then allegedly leave their assigned areas and go home or to other locations.

The deputies did respond to calls when they were dispatched, but failed to initiate any law enforcement action for hours at a time. One of the deputies is also accused of watching a movie while on the clock, according to police.

"These deputies, by their intentional actions, essentially cheated the taxpayers out of well over $24,600 during the time of the investigation, which was from July 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011," Gualtieri said. "We believe our findings are a snapshot of what was going on for a longer period of time. This is behavior that will not be tolerated, and they are being held accountable."

Two other deputies received suspensions for similar activities. Charges against a seventh deputy, who had been named in the original investigation, were unsubstantiated.

STRANGE CRIME MUG SHOTS: (Article Continues Below)

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• Jesse James Thomas

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• William Bliss

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• Christina Lopez

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• Jason Engel

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• Michael Conley

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The deputies who lost their jobs have been identified as 15-year veteran Kenneth Burroughs, 42; 21-year veteran Robert Harmer, 42; 17-year veteran Samuel Mitchem, 42; and 20-year veteran Christopher Metro, 43.

The men were officially fired Monday for "sustained charges of excessive loafing and idling." Afterward, Gualtieri sent out a statement notifying members of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. He wrote, "Although public safety is always our first consideration, the taxpayers of Pinellas County deserve to know that their tax dollars, which are our salaries, are earned by each of us every day through the provision of effective law enforcement services."

Gualtieri said the misconduct by the deputies is "inconsistent with the fine work performed daily by the majority of the 2,800 members of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office."

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Comments

[waldopepper]

12:03 AM on 05/11/2012

Approve.

[dbrett480]

07:37 PM on 05/08/2012

So what was the problem? If they answered their calls for service, how did their supervisors find out? If they were patrolling a rural area, there is only so much law enforcement work to be done.

[dollarsinthebank]

11:54 AM on 05/06/2012

We need more sherrifs like this.

[awaugh1775]

01:20 PM on 05/04/2012

There is way too much law enforcement as it is. There should be 4 or 5 officers relinquished from every department across the states.

[Dr JohnS]

07:42 PM on 05/05/2012

I am not sure where you live but the city where I live there is not enough. There is always at least one drive by shooting, murder or armed robbery a night. But then police cannot be every where.

[lithium12]

07:49 AM on 05/04/2012

So since they were fired for excessive loafing and idling, one has to wonder what the acceptable amount of this is...............

[SonOfMcBush]

06:06 AM on 05/04/2012

They didn't cheat the taxpayer out of anything, they cheated the Police department out of "Ticket Revenue" ,No doubt they didn't meet their ticket quotas, "Law Enforcement" needs Your Ca$h!

[Aeryn Reid]

02:41 PM on 05/04/2012

That is PRECISELY what I was thinking. Moreover, it would be the kind of data their database would flag to start this investigation. Watch for similar purges nationwide! ;)

[grant06]

02:44 AM on 05/04/2012

Gotta wonder how long these guys had been doing this and how bad was the management that made them think they would not be caught? It is hard to believe that the dispatchers didn't have a clue.

[LaughingTwo]

07:27 AM on 05/04/2012

Dispatchers are usually sitting in a small cubicle far removed from the outside world. As long as the officers respond when called (as the article states), they would have no idea where they are. The fact that they disconnect their GPS says it all.

[denicci1977]

11:07 PM on 05/03/2012

I knew it! They need to investigate my city. I see them all the time hiding behind churches and other odd areas sitting and just hanging out. They turn on their emergency lights just to get through traffic and go eat. Many times I have seen people excessively speeding by their "lounge" sites etc and they don't even budge. Tsk tsk.

[evolvedtg]

10:55 PM on 05/03/2012

And they're, like, "WTH? Who is this guy? This is why we took this job in the first place!"
Good for him. Now if only every other sector took a page from Sheriff Gualtieri.

[Jerry Troutman]

10:53 PM on 05/03/2012

Excessive loafing? What would be normal loafing?

[wanttoseeabrochure]

10:49 PM on 05/03/2012

Hope they were members of a union...

[GrandGayle]

09:00 PM on 05/03/2012

Go for it, Sheriff. If they don't their jobs, they need to quit taking jobs from those who want to protect and serve. The Sheriff should be an example to us. We need fire the do-nothing senators and congressmen. Make it a clean slate.

[georgechevrolet]

08:52 PM on 05/03/2012

Police being called to task, nice, about time, yet too few and far between.

[Lindsgrace33]

08:34 PM on 05/03/2012

Good riddance. So much for protecting the people. Someone could seriously have been in hurt or danger and not received help because they were busy watching a movie. Pathetic.

[pdei47]

08:21 PM on 05/03/2012

No wonder cops arrive on scene all pissed off ready to shoot & kill innocent people. These four just told the whole story, cops don't like to be disturbed when they are screwing the taxpayers out of a honest days pay.