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Officer Misconduct / Internal Affairs Article

June 24, 2008

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15 U.S. Capitol Police officers fired

By Mary Beth Sheridan
The Washington Post

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Capitol Police have dismissed about one-quarter of their latest group of recruits after discovering the individuals had been hired despite failing criminal background checks, psychological exams and other employment criteria, officials said yesterday.

The 15 recruits, who were about halfway through a 12-week training course in Georgia, were recalled to Washington over the weekend and told yesterday to resign within five days or be fired, according to several officials.

Some of the recruits had criminal records, said two Capitol Police sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel matters. The sources would not specify how many had committed offenses or what types of violations were involved.

The Capitol Police force's human resources director was put on administrative leave in recent weeks because of the irregularities, according to several police and congressional sources.

The turmoil marks the latest embarrassment for the Capitol Police, who have been criticized for security lapses even as their budget has tripled to about $280 million since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In 2006, a drug-addled man armed with a loaded pistol got past security and raced through the Capitol before he was caught by a civilian employee. Earlier this year, the force reassigned three officers after they didn't notice an improvised bomb in a truck they were searching near the Capitol. The device was recovered three weeks later; no one was injured.

Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, Capitol Police spokeswoman, declined to comment on the recruit problems, saying in an e-mail, "We don't discuss personnel matters."

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance W. Gainer also said he couldn't comment on individual cases. However, referring to the moves by Capitol Police Chief Phillip D. Morse, he said, "The chief took swift but painful action."

"We've disrupted some people's lives, but we have to maintain very high standards," Gainer said.

Rep. Daniel E. Lungren of California, the senior Republican on the House subcommittee on Capitol security, confirmed that the human resources director, Jennifer McCarthy, had been placed on leave because of "an issue of performance." He would not provide further details.

Lungren said he hoped that the hiring problem is a one-time lapse and not a sign of deeper difficulties. "I remain concerned there was what appears to be a slip-up in recruiting, either in practices or procedures," he said.

The Capitol Police have rechecked officers hired during the year-long period that McCarthy headed the human resources office and determined that the rest of the current employees passed the hiring tests, according to one of the Capitol Police sources familiar with the matter.

An employee in McCarthy's former office said that she was not available yesterday and that she had been placed on administrative leave. McCarthy did not return a message left at her home phone number. Her replacement was first reported earlier this month by the Hill newspaper, which also flagged problems involving background checks.

Capitol Police officials declined to reveal anything about the irregularities that turned up in the hiring process regarding the recruits. But one of the police sources said that, in addition to problems with some recruits' criminal background checks and psychological examinations, a few were told that they were being dismissed because of false information on their applications.

It was not clear yesterday how the individuals were hired despite having failed to meet requirements. The Capitol Police Web site boasts of a "stringent" selection process, including a written exam, application review, interviews, background investigation, polygraph, medical exam and psychological evaluation. The selection process generally takes six to 12 months, it says.

"Our rigorous process allows us to locate and select the nation's finest," the Web site says.

The 15 dismissed officers were among more than 60 enrolled in two Capitol Police classes at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga., officials said. They will be allowed to appeal their terminations.

The Capitol Police force has expanded rapidly since the Sept. 11 attacks and now has 1,600 sworn officers. According to its Web site, it offers a starting salary of nearly $52,000 a year plus benefits. After 30 months on the job, a private first class is paid more than $60,000, it says.

One police source said the department's leaders became aware of the hiring blunder after an unusually high number of recruits dropped out of two previous Capitol Police classes at the training academy. However, another senior police official said the investigation began because of "other anomalies," which he declined to identify.

Deputy Police Chief Matthew Verderosa has been named acting head of human resources.

Matt Tighe, head of the Fraternal Order of Police labor committee that represents Capitol Police officers, said he and other officers were stunned by the hiring mistakes.

"It's unbelievable this whole thing is going on and there's no accountability," he said.

He added that officers felt sympathy for the recruits who were dismissed after thinking they had met the Capitol Police requirements.

"You had people quit their jobs and move from all over the country to be here," he said.

Yesterday evening, Morse issued a memo to Capitol Police officers reminding them that they are not permitted to discuss personnel matters publicly.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.

Copyright 2008 The Washington Post

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