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Mom Gets $2,500 Ticket After Son, 3, Urinates In Front Yard


nuckin_futz

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Sometimes I wish there were countermeasure laws in place that allowed a judge to impose personal fines on police who waste the court's time and money if they are found to be egregiously misusing their power.

I'm sure the officer in question wouldn't issue this ticket if he felt it could take a bite out of his wallet if a judge found it frivolous.

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Sometimes I wish there were countermeasure laws in place that allowed a judge to impose personal fines on police who waste the court's time and money if they are found to be egregiously misusing their power.

I'm sure the officer in question wouldn't issue this ticket if he felt it could take a bite out of his wallet if a judge found it frivolous.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update:

PIEDMONT — A police officer who wrote a $2,500 ticket to a mother on a public urination complaint against her 3-year-old son has been fired, City Manager Jim Crosby said Tuesday.

w300-01a9b9ee54e463cbcd7f903c22629d88.jpg

Piedmont woman ticketed after toddler tries to urinate in yard

11/06/2012 Piedmont Police Chief Alex Oblein said Tuesday an officer who ticketed a woman after her 3-year-old son tried to urinate in the family's front yard could...

Crosby said he fired officer Ken Qualls on Friday, following a hearing Nov. 14.

Prosecutors at the Canadian County district attorney's office declined to pursue the case against the mother, Crosby said.

Police Chief Alex Oblein said the ticket was written to the mother for public urination, and the complaint was amended to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Crosby said Piedmont City Council members received emails about the ticket from as far away as Canada, England and Australia.

“Of course we did receive a lot of notoriety over that,” he said.

Qualls plans to appeal the decision, Crosby said. A hearing will be scheduled before a Piedmont personnel board.

Ken Qualls is 45 years old. Qualls has been in Piedmont over a year and has about 18 years experience in law enforcement, said Police Chief Alex Oblein.

Qualls' attorney Jarrod Leaman said Qualls is a member of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System and is looking at options to appeal his termination in Piedmont. A hearing has not been set.

Qualls issued the ticket Nov. 4 to Ashley Warden after he saw her son, Dillan, drop his pants in the front yard of the family home at 4505 Ryan Drive.

Crosby said Qualls didn't see the boy urinate in the yard, but reported seeing a teenager in the Warden family lead the boy to a spot in the yard.

Oblein said the ticket given to the mother did not fit the situation. It could have resulted in a fine of up to $2,500, he said.

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The fired officer has now appealed his termination:

Fired Piedmont police officer Ken Qualls has appealed his termination to the city’s personnel board and a hearing could be scheduled within the month, according to city manager Jim Crosby.

Jerry Dickerson, Patricia Perry and Ronald Moody serve on the board and will hear an appeal from Qualls before meeting in executive session to make a decision. Dickerson said the board has received a letter from Qualls’ attorney and that this will be the first meeting of the personnel board since its appointment in April 2011.

“The board has a hearing and [Qualls] is able to rebut or give his perspective of the action that happened,” Dickerson said. “Then, what we do, after we listen to that viewpoint, we go into executive session and talk it over and then we come out and…write a letter to the city manager giving our perspective.”

after he
attempting to urinate in his yard. The ticket was later dismissed and Police Chief Alex Oblein recommended that Qualls be fired, a decision that was upheld by Crosby following a closed-door meeting with the
officer last Thursday.

And it sounds like the Piedmont police department has been going through some serious problems with several police chiefs being replaced and complaints by officers about another member who they accuse of spying for the former chief, misconduct and cowardice.

During a time when increased scrutiny has been directed towards the Piedmont Police Department following a controversial ticket, a document has surfaced that shows some officers are concerned with the conduct of one of their own.

On Wednesday, the
Piedmont Citizen
was provided a copy of a document (view below) signed by seven Piedmont officers expressing their lack of confidence in officer Donald Bruecks. The three-page document outlines several claims of misconduct by Bruecks and was dated June 3, 2012. The document was addressed to Capt. Sterling Markel, who was acting as interim police chief at the time, and City Manager Jim Crosby. The
Piedmont Citizen
provided a copy to Crosby who said he had never seen it before.

“I find this very concerning,” Crosby said after reviewing the document.

On Thursday, Crosby said he had discussed the document with Markel and Chief Alex Oblein. Oblein said the allegations against Bruecks were made before he arrived as chief and that he has found Bruecks to be a quality officer.

“I didn’t come in here with the agenda that I have to get rid of anybody,” Oblein said. “Everyone has started with a clean slate with me but I’m not being ignorant of what has gone on in the past.”

The surfacing letter comes a week after the police department became the brunt of public outcry over a ticket that was issued to a Piedmont mom when her toddler attempted to urinate in his front yard. Officer Ken Qualls – who is one of the seven officers that signed the vote of no confidence –
, which was later dismissed.

Beyond the accusations made in the document, officers have also expressed concern that Bruecks, who was hired during the tenure of Tom Linn as police chief, was brought in to spy on other officers and report his findings to Linn, according to one source with knowledge of the situation. Oblein said he has not seen any behavior from Bruecks that would support that suspicion.

“I found out about [the letter] in August and it gave me a level of awareness of what to watch,” Oblein said. “I haven’t seen any indication that he has done anything other than what is expected of his job.”

Crosby said he found the letter concerning, especially since he never received a copy when it was addressed.

“It allegedly was sent to me, but I never received it,” he said.

Crosby said he has investigated the claims made about Bruecks’ performance and believes appropriate action has been taken.

“I think what this brings to the surface, is with all the things that have gone on at the police department, we have had a complete lack of leadership,” Crosby said. “It’s a problem you have when you have had like nine police chiefs since 2005. You look at that and there is no continuity of leadership to build with the troops and get a hold of the troops. This is a great concern of mine, that we have had such a high turnover.

“It’s my hope that [chief Oblein] will stay awhile and we can work through some of these problems.”

The letter was signed by officers Ken Qualls, Craig Curtner, Jack Neumann, Austin Bolding, Scott Gibbons, Brian Dawson and Tony Jobe.

Click link to view signed letter:

http://www.piedmontdaily.com/city/police-officers-accuse-their-own-of-misconduct-spying/

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