OFF THE WIRE
Sgt. German Bosque patrols in Opa-Locka, one of Florida's roughest cities. Fired five times and arrested three, he leads the state in disciplinary cases. He says he is respectful to civilians, but there are times he has to be "tough to earn respect."
Part 1: Forty internal affairs cases would cost most police officers their jobs. But not Opa-Locka Police Sgt. German Bosque. Not in this state.
German Bosque's personnel file looks more like a rap sheet than a résumé.
In two decades, the Opa-Locka Police Department opened 40 internal affairs cases on Bosque. Sixteen of them were for battery or excessive force.
Fired five times and arrested three, he was charged with stealing a car, trying to board an airplane with a loaded gun and driving with a suspended license.
Internal Affairs investigations found that Bosque split a man's lip with a head butt. He opened another man's head with a leg sweep and takedown. He spit in the face of a drunken, stumbling arrestee. One time, he smacked a juvenile so hard the boy's face was red and swollen the next day.
Bosque has been caught defying direct orders, lying to supervisors and falsifying police reports. Off duty, he was accused by women of domestic violence and stalking. During inspections, the agency found a counterfeit $20 bill, cocaine and crack pipes in his patrol car.
Still, Bosque has kept his badge.
In Florida, the process of investigating and disciplining police officers and prison guards is flawed at every level, allowing troubled lawmen to return to work after repeated acts of misconduct, a Herald-Tribune investigation has found.
Law enforcement agencies around the state employ officers despite cases of serious misconduct in their past, involving everything from violence and perjury to drugs and sexual assault. Many more cases stay hidden because agencies fail to thoroughly investigate or report complaints.
FULL story here:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111204/ARTICLE/111139979/2416/NEWS?p=1&tc=pg