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| NEWS > 20 April 2006 |
Other related articles:
Standard Of Police Recruits Se
There are warnings the standard of police recruits is slipping to meet a government target for extra staff.
The Government has promised an additional 1,000 frontline and 250 non-sworn staff over the next three years.
The Police Association believes some people are being rushed through the recruiting process to meet targets, and says the police college is accepting some applicants it would not have done before.
But Police managers say their recruitment process is complete and robust and integrity is not negotiable.
... Read more
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Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauder
20 April 2006
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To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Plea deal means end of police
Though he retired from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in January, a plea deal Wednesday to misdemeanor trespass and criminal mischief charges means former Capt. David Carhart will never again wear a law enforcement badge.
Carhart, 42, lost his law enforcement certification and was ordered by County Judge Paul Moyle to serve 30 days in jail, perform 100 hours of community service and pay $476 restitution to former girlfriend Cheryl Griffin, a Royal Palm Beach police officer. Carhart is also prohibited from having a gun or drinking alcohol. That includes non-alcoholic beer, which contains a tiny amount of alcohol. He will be on probation for a year. Should he violate the terms of the deal, Carhart faces jail time.
He remains in the county jail on felony charges of burglary and witness tampering stemming from a March arrest for allegedly violating a court order not to contact another former girlfriend, Tracey Seberg. His lawyer, Scott Richardson, said Carhart would not seek bond on those charges.
A 23-year veteran in the Sheriff's Office ranks, Carhart was to take over the special investigations unit in September, the same day he was charged with breaking into Griffin's home.
Assistant State Attorney Elizabeth Parker said the incident occurred about 12:30 a.m. on July 31, when a drunken Carhart got inside Griffin's house by smashing a bedroom window, rummaged through her possessions and then assembled a variety of items -- shirts, photographs, a calendar and a crayon-colored picture of a female officer -- on Griffin's kitchen table. From Griffin's home phone, Carhart text messaged Griffin's cell phone and told her he was in the house. Griffin called Palm Beach Gardens police when she returned home.
Griffin, 38, dated Carhart off and on for nearly two years, she said, and though they shared interests in law enforcement and motorcycles, Griffin ended the relationship in April 2005 after noticing a change in Carhart's behavior. Griffin attended Wednesday's court hearing and got choked up afterward, saying she hopes Carhart will get the help he needs.
"He's a very smart man who made some very bad choices," she said. "It's a sad situation. He has a lot of issues."
Carhart faces 25 years in prison on the felony counts, Parker said, though she's hopeful the case can be resolved without a trial.
"Today is a good indicator he's taking responsibility for his actions," she said.
In that case, police found Carhart outside Seberg's home in the Andros Isle community on March 26 following his release from a month's stay at a substance abuse treatment facility. He wanted Seberg to sign a letter he wrote saying she would drop the accusations against him. Carhart had been previously barred from contact with Seberg for allegedly breaking into her home in December and threatening to kill her.
Carhart began his career as a corrections deputy, working his way up to the rank of captain. After running the Pahokee Police Department in 2003 while the Sheriff's Office investigated the agency for mismanagement, Carhart received a promotion to captain and eventually ran the agency's violent crimes unit.
After an internal affairs investigation found he violated agency rules for breaking into Griffin's home and driving an unmarked cruiser while impaired, Carhart was demoted to lieutenant, assigned to road patrol and ordered to undergo counseling. He was placed on paid administrative leave in December and retired a month later with an early buyout package offered to veterans with more than 20 years of service. The $123,118 included money for unused sick and vacation time.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who said he did not know Carhart well, said he's sorry Carhart's career ended as it did.
"It's unfortunate," Bradshaw said. "You know what the rules are, what the guidelines are and you're supposed to be what other people look to in the community."
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