Notice of complaint related to 2022-0691
Complainant alleges that an Austin police officer misrepresented an injury to qualify for worker's compensation and reduced duty.
Document
Notice of complaint related to 2022-0691200.64 KBPDF Content
Disclaimer: The following text was extracted from the PDF file to make this document more accessible. This machine-generated content may contain styling errors due to redactions. In some instances, text may not load if the original file is a scanned image or has not been made searchable. For the full version of the document, please view the PDF.OF
STATE
CUSTEM
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
August 19, 2022
ICMS #: 2022-0691
On August 18, 2022, the OPO received an online complaint.
The complainant alleges: There are numerous concerns regarding the potential discipline
of Sgt.
and Cpl.
and how the complaint came about. In
after Ofc.
was put on "No Duty" for a broken foot, members of the
who
followed her social media began noticing posts where she was more active than someone
with a broken foot should seemingly be. Specifically, within one week she was on a beach
in
without an ankle boot, and appeared to also be zip lining at one point. Over the
months of
, and
she posted various photos showing her
wearing high heels, standing with no supports, and plenty of other activities that would be
difficult to imagine someone with a broken foot doing. Plus, there were photos where she
DID have a boot on, indicating she was advised at some point to wear a boot SO her foot
could properly heal. All this was frustrating to members of the
but it became more
,
frustrating when her "No Duty" status was extended into the month of
Sgt.
and Cpl.
appropriately reached out to Risk Management to inquire about her status,
and whether the social media posts were pertinent, but apparently Ofc.
has a
personal friendship with Detective
who was assigned to Risk Management
at the time. I believe Det.
alerted Ofc.
to an impending investigation, and
deflected consequences by causing an investigation to occur into her supervisors instead of
her. Further, I believe the conduct documented and reported by Sgt.
and Cpl.
indicates that it is feasible Ofc.
violated APD policy regarding use of Sick Time,
and possibly complying with Doctor's orders when dealing with Worker's Comp. Because
defrauding Worker's Comp is a crime, an investigation into this conduct would not be
limited to the 180-day rule.
This notice of complaint is a request for Internal Affairs to initiate an investigation to
determine if the employee conduct is within compliance of APD policy, Civil Service
Rules, and Municipal Civil Service Rules.
OF
CHICK LUSTER
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
FOUNDED
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT