TN- A deputy chief with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office denies cheating on college work, is this happening in other departments?
A deputy chief with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office had a jailer complete a college course for him, then used the credit to maintain his state certification in law enforcement, according to internal reports obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
No action was taken against Deputy Chief Ron Parson, although he later was suspended for one day for sharing his county computer password with the same jailer, Corrections Deputy Ryan Epperson.
Epperson admitted to internal affairs investigators that he used Parson’s password to the sheriff’s office intranet to complete Parson’s coursework and research. He said he had to conduct additional research to make the page count for Parson’s paper, according to an internal affairs interview. The course was held at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Parson, who oversees patrol operations at the sheriff’s office, had Epperson complete a research paper and PowerPoint presentation for the course, called Community Policing, Homeland Security and Crime Analysis, according to the investigative report. Epperson said he wrote the research paper, according to the internal affairs report.
Over six months, Epperson also used Parson’s password on work computers to watch such television shows as “Memphis Beat,” “Cops” and “CSI.” And he visited websites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube and accessed jail surveillance cameras and Parson’s email account, according to sheriff’s office Web reports.
“The issue to cheating — that would be an issue to ask UT-Chattanooga about,” said Brian Grisham, executive secretary of Tennessee’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. According to its website, the POST Commission enforces state standards and is the primary regulatory body for law enforcement officers.
“It’s not unusual for other individuals to help with papers as long as there’s proper attribution,” Grisham said. “That’s an issue for the trainer. ... If we found someone cheating on a test here, we wouldn’t allow credit for that training.”
Parson never had his credit re-evaluated by the university. And the POST Commission never questioned the validity of his credit even after hearing allegations he cheated.
Samuel Walker, a national expert on police accountability and a professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the incident needs further examination.
“They’re making a mockery of the certification process,” Walker said. “How widespread is this? ... That’s completely unacceptable.”
Link:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jun/12/deputy-chief-denies-cheating-college-work/