Police board releases its first decisions

Keith Paul

Friday, Feb. 16, 2001 | 11:14 a.m.

The Metro Police citizen review board cleared one officer and sustained a complaint against another officer in its first decisions released, but in both cases the board pointed out shoddy investigations by police.

"Both of these investigations (by Metro) show a lack of effort in even picking up a phone and calling people who may have information," said Andrea Beckman, citizen review board's executive director.

The review board's findings have led Metro to reopen the internal investigations into separate complaints against Officer Richard Splinter and Lt. Sean Donnelly, Undersheriff Richard Winget said this morning.

Splinter was accused of while off-duty and playing on a baseball team, pulling out a gun and pointing it at an umpire who had just ejected him from the game. Splinter, according to police reports, stated he thought the umpire had a gun and held the umpire at gunpoint until other officers arrived.

The board in its decision, released this morning, stated the investigation was done not by internal affairs, but by Splinter's unit. The board's hearing was held Monday. Splinter was at the hearing with an attorney, but did not testify.

"The investigating officer interviewed only two witnesses, the officer who was the subject of the complaint and one other witness who had been friends with both the investigating officer and the officer charged with misconduct," the board states in its decision.

The investigator didn't even interview two of the three witnesses named in the incident report filed by Splinter.

The investigator contacted the man who filed the complaint, Jon Tignor, but "based upon his experience" decided Tignor was drunk and uncooperative. But in fact, the board found Tignor doesn't drink, but has a speech impediment.

The incident occurred in July, and Winget said since then Metro has made new policies directing internal affairs to investigate a majority of complaints and decide who investigates the complaints if internal affairs doesn't handle the investigation themselves.

"We have also increased the size of internal affairs," Winget said, noting seven additional investigators were recently added to the unit.

In the other complaint, the board did not sustain a complaint of misconduct lodged against Donnelly stemming from a traffic stop outside a Costco in Henderson in October. The hearing was held last week, and the decision released this morning. Darren Price alleged Donnelly was rude and used foul language while dealing with him.

The board also noted that while internal affairs investigators did look into this complaint, there were several witnesses that may have had information in this case that investigators did not attempt to contact.

Donnelly did not appear at the hearing.

"Neither one of these investigations were our best work," Winget said. "We are open to outside reviews, and (the review of these cases) will help us improve."

In the Splinter case, the review board did not recommend any punishment for the officer since he was already told he had been vindicated by the internal investigation, Beckman said.

The board can make recommendations for punishment, but Sheriff Jerry Keller has the final say on any discipline against an officer.

The citizen review board was established last year after many years of political wrangling and public outcry after high-profile officer-involved shootings in which officers were vindicated by Metro's internal affairs unit or a coroner's inquest.