on sale now at amazon

on sale now at amazon
"I don't like this book because it don't got know pictures" Chief Rhorerer

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”
“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”

Cop fired for watching porn fights for pension


By Quan Truong, 

A former Wheaton police officer fired for watching pornography in his cruiser is fighting to receive disability pension pay.
Thomas Sommerfield was terminated earlier this year after an internal investigation showed he had been watching pornography in his cruiser, according to records obtained by the Tribune. Sommerfield, a 23-year veteran patrol officer, was among the officers who were honored last year for arresting a man in a shooting incident.
Sommerfield is claiming a psychological disability, said Richard Reimer, attorney for the pension board. Reimer would not discuss specifics of the case or comment because it is pending. In general, he said, line-of-duty disability pension benefits offer 65 percent of the officer's salary and non-duty disability pension pays out 50 percent.
Sommerfield's last annual salary with the city was $87,339, according to Wheaton city officials.
His disability pension claim case is pending before the Wheaton Police Pension Fund Board. Messages left for Sommerfield and his pension attorney were not returned. The case was last heard by the board on July 1, when members ruled the city of Wheaton can participate in Sommerfield's hearing despite his objections. A date for the next hearing has not been set.
These types of claims typically can take from three to nine months, Reimer said.
Sommerfield was dismissed after a motorist told city officials in September that he was stopped at Main and Front streets behind a cruiser and saw the officer inside looking at pornography on his laptop. The citizen e-mailed the mayor, and an internal investigation was launched, according to city records.
"The city promptly and thoroughly investigated the underlying matter and based upon the investigation, the chief discharged the police officer," City Attorney Jim Knippen said. "We have no further comment at this time based on other pending legal matters." Other Wheaton city officials have declined to comment on the matter.
The computer from the cruiser that Sommerfield used was removed for forensics analysis, which later showed that the officer used it to access pornographic websites between May and October of 2013.
The analysis found 25 pictures on the computer depicting nudity and/or graphic sexual activity and four video fragments that had been deleted, according to reports. It also found that two websites were visited hundreds of times and a third was visited over 60 times. The website Craigslist had also been visited and, during a January interrogation, Sommerfield admitted to looking at escort services but said he never acted on them or made contact.
Sommerfield later admitted he had been accessing the websites for several years using the in-vehicle computer and deleting the browser's web history, according to documents provided by the city.
Sommerfield also admitted to falsifying department records using his in-car computer to show he was on other duties such as extra watches while using part of the time to look at escort sites and pornographic material on the computer, according to a transcript of a January interrogation.
The documents show he said he has been diagnosed by a doctor with conditions that could have affected the behavior, although medical details of the diagnosis were taken out of the interrogation transcript that was released to the Tribune. In the transcript, Sommerfield said he had been taking medication and that his doctor said any addictive traits would be intensified if those medications were out of balance.
Sommerfield was fired on Jan. 22.
"Your conduct included a pattern of intentional deceptions which are wholly inconsistent with the fundamental integrity required of a sworn officer by the public as well as the Department," a memo stated.
The city has filtering capacities on police computers but can't use the same blocking software that is on other city computers, Knippen said.
"The police have to have the ability to use the computers in the investigation of criminal activities, and placing those locks on police computers could interfere with police investigation," he said.
He added that any sort of monitoring has to be done in-house, and when there is some type of evidence indicating it is necessary.
"There's sensitive identifying information in those computers which should not be available to people outside the department," he said.