08242008 - Officer Kenneth Pappas - Sterling Heights PD

OFFICER KENNETH PAPPAS, STERLING HEIGHTS PD, AUGUST 23, 2008

21 Sterling Heights police command officers suspended
Published: Thursday, March 22, 2012
By Gordon Wilczynski
Macomb Daily
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2012/03/22/news/doc4f6b52911d295280203254.txt

Twenty-one Sterling Heights police command officers have been suspended 10 to 30 days for the inaccurate submission of time cards.

Police Chief Michael Reese could not be reached for comment, but he made his feelings clear at a City Council meeting Tuesday evening.

A report, released by Internal Affairs Lt. Luke Riley on Wednesday to The Macomb Daily under the Freedom of Information Act, said the suspensions range from 30 days for lieutenants to 10-day suspensions for sergeants.

Riley said the officers violated a department manual of rules that stipulates they are required to submit accurate timecards.

The suspensions were the direct result of command officers leaving work early on numerous occasions dating back at least 90 days.

James Hack, a captain, second highest ranking officer at the department, denied participating or knowledge of officers leaving early. Some of the officers said Hack approved the practice. Nine command officers who advised the police administration said Hack was aware of the practice.

Other officers suspended for leaving early are lieutenants David Smith, David Sharna, Steve Jesperson, Kevin Reese, John Rogers, Dale Dwojakowski and Steve Jesperson. They were accused of receiving and permitting wages for the time where they were absent.

Sergeants suspended are Dale Brown, Colleen Hopper, Guy Holmes, Paul LaBaere, James Wood, David Cattaneo, Mark Schmidt, Ronald Gotowicki, James Bryant, Paul Korell, Linda Deprez, Anthony Roebuck, Scott Anderson and Kenneth Pappas.

The lieutenants will have 10 days of their 30-day suspension held in abeyance for two years and if they work with a clean slate the 10 days will be deleted. For sergeants, the same will occur with five days being held back.

Mayor Richard Notte said he believes all of the suspensions are fair. He said the discipline was severe

“They are paying back all of the money they improperly took from their employer,” Notte said. “I don’t think this will ever happen again.”

Notte said Hack promoted the illegal activity because of a recent arbitration ruling against command officers.

The matter remains in Macomb Circuit Court.

“Hack condoned this activity,” Notte said. “He was their boss and promoted it because he was bitter at the city.”

Councilman Michael Taylor, a Mount Clemens attorney, said he is not satisfied with the suspensions. He said it wasn’t enough.

Taylor said the officers of the same rank got the exact same punishment. He said some should have gotten a lot more.

“Some are more culpable than others,” Taylor said.

The officers’ lost wages will come out of their vacation and personal day time bank. Taylor said it will be taken from money the officers have coming.

Taylor said the officers will lose $70,000 from their banked time. Hack, because of money he would have earned on the police department’s DROP program, will lose at least $400,000.

Hack is making $140,000 annually and he still had four years left on the DROP program.











Domestic violence charges dropped against officer
By DEANNA ROSE
Source Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Sunday, October 5, 2008
http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/stories/100508/loc_story1001.shtml

A judge dismissed a domestic violence charge against a Sterling Heights police officer accused of engaging in a physical altercation with his wife, after the alleged victim and another witness failed to show up in court for the trial.

Kenneth Pappas, 34, was placed on routine paid administrative leave after his arrest at his Macomb Township home on Aug. 24, but was reinstated after the dismissal by Judge Douglas Shepherd at 41-A District Court in Shelby Township on Sept. 29.

Macomb County assistant prosecutor Erika Breitfeld told Shepherd that the prosecution had reluctant witnesses in Pappas’ wife, Kelly Pappas, and an eyewitness, and asked for an adjournment to a later date.

David Griem, Pappas’ attorney, asked Shepherd that the charges against Pappas be dismissed because Kelly Pappas was not in the courtroom.

Shepherd sided with Pappas and dismissed the charges, but told the prosecution he would grant reauthorization of the case if the victim brought charges.

Griem said Kelly Pappas did not show up because she did not want to press charges against her husband, from whom she is separated, and that it was the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department who brought the charges following the August incident. Deputies arrested Kenneth Pappas after responding to a domestic violence call at the home where Kelly Pappas is currently living.

“Kelly Pappas made it crystal clear twice in the police report that she did not want to prosecute,” Griem said. “Many times in cases like this, once the anger has subsided the case turns out to be something very different from what was first described to police, when one or both of the individuals were under the influence of their emotions.”

Griem said Kenneth Pappas and Kelly Pappas wanted the no-contact stipulation removed so the two could spend time at their child’s birthday party the following weekend. The couple has three children, ages 6, 8 and 10.

“Their only concern is the well-being of their three children. They both want to be the best parents they can possibly be,” Griem said. “When one speaks from their heart, many times things don’t come out the way they should. Both Kelly and Ken want to put this behind them.”

Griem said it was his understanding that Kelly Pappas was not in court that day because she was attending a field trip with their 6-year-old child.

Sterling Heights Police Lt. Robert Henigan said Pappas was able to return to work after the charge was dismissed, but an administrative investigation is ongoing with regard to any violation of department rules.



               







Cop arrested for domestic violence
By DEANNA ROSE
Source Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Sunday, September 14, 2008
http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/stories/091408/loc_story40012.shtml

A Sterling Heights police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after being arrested following an alleged altercation with his wife in their Macomb Township home.

According to Macomb County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Anthony Wickersham, Kenneth Pappas, 34, was arrested after deputies responded to a domestic violence call placed by Pappas’ wife at 2 p.m. on Aug. 24.

Wickersham said officers determined an assault had taken place and took Pappas into custody.

He was charged with one count of domestic violence and taken to the Macomb County Jail for the night. He was released after posting personal bond following his arraignment the next day at 41-A District Court in Shelby Township.

Sterling Heights Interim Police Chief Michael Reese said Pappas was suspended pending the outcome of the criminal charge and a subsequent internal investigation.

Reese said the paid leave is normal protocol when an officer is involved in a criminal matter, although the entire situation rarely occurs.


Pappas will be back in the Shelby Township court Sept. 29. Reese said following the result of the court proceedings, a police department investigation into the matter will be conducted to determine if and when Pappas would be able to return to work - all in conjunction with the court’s findings.













Sterling Heights cop charged in assault on wife
The Detroit News
August 27, 2008
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080827/METRO03/808270305

MACOMB TOWNSHIP -- A Sterling Heights police officer has been charged with assaulting his wife over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday.

Kenneth Pappas, 34, of Macomb Township, an officer with the Sterling Heights Police Department, was arrested by Macomb County Sheriff's deputies on Saturday, said Capt. Anthony Wickersham of the Sheriff's Office.

Pappas was arraigned on Monday on assault charges in 41-A District Court in Shelby Township, Wickersham said. The crime is a misdemeanor and carries a penalty of up to 93 days in jail.

Police responded to a report of domestic violence at Pappas' Macomb Township home about 5 p.m. Saturday, according to authorities.

The officers determined Pappas had assaulted his wife, arrested him and transported him to the county jail where he spent the night, Wickersham said. He also said the officer posted a $25,000 personal bond and was released.











Sterling Heights cops earn awards for saving lives
The Source
PUBLISHED: Sunday, July 27, 2008

Sterling Heights Interim Police Chief Michael Reese recently announced a series of merit and lifesaving awards for more than 20 police officers who demonstrated outstanding service to the community in 2007.

The merit awards recognize several officers for outstanding service to the community, while the lifesaving awards honor police officers and several firefighters for their actions in three separate incidents.

“While the vast majority of our officers perform at an extremely high level, these officers deserve special recognition for achieving results through investigation, observation or just being in the right place at the right time,” Reese said. “It’s efforts like these that help make Sterling Heights one of the safest cities in the state.”

The officers and circumstances that prompted their awards are as follows:

1 Life Saving Award: Officer Jamie Dubay was honored for saving the life of an elderly woman who was unconscious and not breathing.

l Life Saving Award: Officer Randall Shippy and firefighters Jeff Duncan, Jason Nelson, Joe Toth and Kevin Wardrop were honored for saving the life of a mobile home resident who was succumbing to smoke inhalation.

l Life Saving Award: Officer Walter Smith was honored for saving the life of a woman who was unconscious and not breathing after suffering a heart attack.

In addition, merit awards for outstanding service to the community were presented to the following officers:

Det. Gregory Hill, Officer Craig Cole, Officer Michael Kunath, Officer Brandon Pluger, Lt. Paul Wilson, Sgt. Scott Anderson, Det. John Gurnow, Det. David Ormachea, Det. Kenneth Pappas, Det. David Sarvello, Det. Jason Selewski, Det. George Tsouroullis, Officer Jason Modrzejewski, Officer Rodney Damm, Officer Allan Golden, Officer Roger Mueller, Officer Rob Wojciechowski, Sgt. Guy Holmes, Officer David Allen, Officer Gregory Glinski, Officer Anthony Roeske and Officer Matthew Willard.