The Veteran Who Arrives Late and the Probationer Watching
You are six weeks into your first sergeant assignment on a 9-officer evening shift. Officer Doyle, a 14-year veteran, has been late to roll call 7 of the last 12 shifts (6 to 19 minutes), and has twice left his beat 40 minutes early without authorization. Officer Reyes, a probationary officer in month 9 of 12, has begun arriving late as well and told a peer, 'Doyle does it and nothing happens.' Your lieutenant tells you, 'Handle it at your level; I don't want paperwork yet.' The CBA requires progressive discipline and a written reprimand before suspension; department policy requires documented counseling for tardiness. Doyle is the squad's best report writer and the only certified field training officer available next month. Roll call starts in 25 minutes and Doyle is not yet in the building.
1. What do you do in the next 25 minutes, and what do you do over the following two weeks?
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Next 25 minutes. Do not stage a public confrontation at roll call; that hardens resistance and humiliates a veteran in front of the probationer. Log the arrival time in the roll call record as it actually happens. If Doyle arrives late, speak to him privately immediately after roll call, not in the hallway in front of others.
At that conversation, ask before you accuse. Lateness can be protected (FMLA, a documented medical restriction, a child-care order, court subpoenas) or explained by a scheduling error. Confirm the expectation in concrete terms: on duty, in uniform, signed in, ten minutes before roll call, and remaining on beat until end of shift absent approval. Give the specific dates and minutes. Issue documented counseling the same day, using the policy-required form, and have him sign; if he refuses, write 'refused to sign' with the date, time, and a witness.
Next two weeks. Build the record contemporaneously - date, scheduled start, actual start, source (CAD, time clock, roll call log). Pull timekeeping records to see whether the pattern tracks days off, court days, or a second job. Mention EAP as a resource without diagnosing. Then move the progressive chain: documented counseling, written reprimand, suspension, each tied to the CBA. If the conversation could lead to discipline and Doyle requests a union representative, stop and arrange a Weingarten-compliant interview. Before any suspension, confirm the Loudermill notice requirements with HR.
2. How do you handle Officer Reyes, and do you keep Doyle's field training officer assignment next month?
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Treat these as two separate problems. Reyes's obligation is her own, and her probationary status means her evaluation and retention are on the line.
Reyes: Speak with her privately and correct the framing directly - what Doyle does is being addressed, and it does not transfer to her. Document the counseling for lateness exactly as you would for any officer. Explain that her probationary evaluations will reflect her own conduct and that 'everyone does it' is not a defense she wants on her record. Pair her with an officer in good standing for mentoring; a probationer's first model of 'how things work here' should not be a veteran who is out of compliance.
Doyle as FTO: The FTO is a role model and a certifying official. Putting an officer who is currently out of compliance in a position to sign training records creates three problems: a mixed message to the recruit, a credibility problem if the training record is ever challenged in a hearing or a lawsuit, and a grievance risk if you pull the assignment without documentation. The defensible path is conditional, not punitive: tell Doyle the assignment proceeds only if he sustains compliance through a defined review point (for example 30 and 60 days), and put that in writing. Coordinate with the training unit so the decision is not read as personal. If he fails the condition, the deferral is documented and based on the record, not on how you feel about him.
3. The lieutenant has told you not to create paperwork. How do you respond, and what do you document?
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Separate your loyalty to the lieutenant from your own exposure. The CBA and policy, not a supervisor's preference, set the discipline process, and you are the one who will be asked why the pattern was tolerated.
Respond in writing, not in the hallway. Send a short factual memo or email: dates and minutes of lateness, the early departures, the counseling already given, the policy and CBA provisions, and the risk of an equal-treatment grievance from the officers who are on time after Reyes copied the behavior. Recommend a course of action and ask for a decision. This is not insubordination; it is documenting that you surfaced the issue.
If the lieutenant still says no paperwork: record that instruction, with the date and time. Do not create an undisclosed 'shadow file' - every record, including personal notes kept at work, can be discoverable. Do not retaliate against Doyle to get around the instruction, and do not tell Reyes that enforcement has been suspended.
Escalation: if the instruction would require you to falsify a time record, ignore a known violation, or sign an evaluation you know to be false, that is a different matter - go to the lieutenant's supervisor or the personnel office. Otherwise, keep doing what you control: timely documented counseling, accurate timekeeping, and written recommendations. When the issue eventually surfaces, your record shows you acted and were overruled.