Sergeant Disciplined In Rookie Cop Probe

A veteran sergeant received a one-day suspension Wednesday for signing off on an officer’s report that failed to include that a rookie policewoman’s car was involved in a controversial traffic stop and drug arrest.

Police Chief Dean Esserman handed down the discipline to the sergeant, Richard Miller, during a meeting in the third-floor conference room at 1 Union Ave.

The suspension will be held ​“in abeyance” for six months. That means Miller will not have to serve it if he stays out of trouble during that time, according to union attorney Marshall Segar. If he does receive discipline for a subsequent infraction, then the one-day suspension would be added.

The suspension concludes a protracted case that started with a traffic stop, and led to department-wide retraining.

Miller is the third cop to be disciplined in the case, which stems from a Jan. 17 traffic stop and arrest (first reported here) of a man driving a white Honda Crossover with his lights off — and allegedly carrying large quantities of heroin and crack cocaine. The car belonged to rookie Officer Najae Poindexter. A subsequent internal investigation concluded that five of Poindexter’s superiors warned her to stay away from her live-in boyfriend, the arrestee. The investigation also found that she had maintained close contact with a convicted murderer and a convicted drug-dealer. In a 3 – 2 vote, the Police Commission fired Poindexter after a five-hour hearing. (Read all about that here.)

Esserman subsequently suspended Officer Michelle Dobson for ten days (five of them held in abeyance) for how she conducted the original background check on Poindexter. The police union has grieved that suspension. Another officer had a ​“sit-down” with the chief to review training on strip searches. (Read about all that here.)

As for Sgt. Miller, the investigation found that Miller signed off an a patrol’s officer’s report that failed to mention that Poindexter owned the car, and that an officer drove to her home to deliver the keys to her so she could retrieve it.

Miller was found to have violated Rule 15, Article 35 of the department’s general orders, which states: ​“No employee of the department shall commit any act contrary to good order and discipline or constituting neglect of duty.”

Accompanied by attorney Segar and newly elected union President Craig Miller (no relation), Sgt. Miller met with Esserman and Assistant Chief Al Vazquez Wednesday to receive and discuss the suspension.

“Sgt. Miller was not pleased with what the chief had to say and disagreed with much of the chief’s decision,” Segar said afterwards. (Miller had referred questions to Segar.) Segar said the union had not yet decided whether to appeal the suspension.

Miller’s side of the story is contained in the 400-plus-page internal affairs report (obtained by the Independent; read about that here) about the Poindexter incident. It states that Miller ​“confirmed” that the report he signed omitted the information about the officer owning the Honda. ​“He stated that even though he approved the report, he instructed Officer [Matthew] Borges to complete a supplemental report during his next schedule[d] shift to include the vehicle’s owner information. Sergeant Miller stated he was unsure if the supplemental report was completed and he had not documented the order given to Officer Borges.” Miller stated that he didn’t learn until the next day that an officer owned the vehicle.

Vazquez said Wednesday that the investigation found Miller’s supplemental-report claim to be ​“not true.”

The IA report cleared other supervisors on duty that night of culpability because they weren’t aware of key information.

Vazquez said no other disciplinary actions are contemplated in relation to the IA case.

“We’ve done a lot of changes in thie department as a result” of the investigation, Vazquez said: He sent all members of the background investigations unit to undergo new training in Massachusetts. And all department officers were retrained at line-ups about department strip-search policy.

Sgt. Miller happened to have been reelected Tuesday to a seat on the police union executive board. Segar (pictured) said Wednesday that the union ​“has a serious concern” about the timing of his six-month abeyance — it expires on Nov. 20, after the current list expires for sergeants eligible to be promoted to lieutenant. Miller’s name is on that list. Segar called the timing ​“very suspicious.” ​“The chief’s six-month abeyance keeps him in this discipline purgatory status” until 15 days after the list expires, Segar said.

“He got a light ruling on this case,” Vazquez responded. ​“It has nothing to do with the fact that he is a member of the board or he’s on any list.”

Previous coverage of this case:

• Rookie Cop Fired In 3 – 2 Vote
• 2 More Face Discipline In Police Probe
• Probe Question: What Did Rookie Know, & When?
• Cop’s Connection To Drug Arrest Sparks IA Probe
• Cop Was Warned About Companion’s Dealing
• Esserman Moves To Fire Rookie Cop