GLEA Supports Arreola in AZ Republic Article 01.23.09
Former Glendale police officer disputes fraud allegations
by Dustin Gardiner – Jan. 23, 2010 08:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
A former Glendale officer is fighting accusations that he intentionally defrauded the Police Department by turning in fraudulent timesheets, totaling $2,800 in unearned pay.
Daniel Arreola, 27, resigned in September after he was accused of turning in incorrect time sheets and sending sexually and racially offensive messages to other officers, according to an internal investigation report.
Arreola was found to have falsely claimed hours on 11 dates when he was actually on vacation, compensatory time or sick leave, the report states.
The case is now being investigated by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, which will determine whether to revoke Arreola’s peace-officer certification.
At its monthly meeting Wednesday, the board heard findings from Glendale’s internal investigation report and voted to look into the case further.
Arreola is contesting the charges, saying several of the errors occurred when a supervisor turned in his timesheet for him while he was on vacation or sick leave.
In a letter sent to Police Chief Steve Conrad and the board, Arreola argues that seven of the allegations of timesheet fraud should not be upheld. He said the errors occurred either because he did not complete the form himself or he was confused by the format of the timesheet.
Glendale has since dropped paper timesheets in favor of a computerized system.
Arreola’s rebuttal also states that his response to the allegations was presented to Conrad “with no change in resolution.”
However, Arreola provided no explanation for three additional charges of timesheet fraud. His letter simply states, “The occasional error on timesheets can be considered a mistake that has been proven.”
Arreola declined a request for an interview.
The department’s investigation into Arreola began last spring when internal affairs was investigating another officer, Adam Fisher, 27, over allegations that he had sex with a female co-worker at her house while on duty.
Revelations about Fisher’s sexual misconduct led to a review of his timesheets, showing he had also falsified the forms to claim extra hours. The investigation into Fisher prompted the department to randomly audit the hour sheets of 10 other officers working at the Gateway substation, which uncovered Arreola’s errors. Although department initially sought to prosecute Fisher and Arreola on misdemeanor fraud counts, the City Attorney’s Office declined to take the case.
Both officers resigned after Conrad placed them on administrative leave in the summer. Conrad notified the officers of his intent to fire them.
“These guys are not indicative of what we expect and want out of people that work in this department,” Conrad told The Republic in November. “I can say with certainty that this is isolated.”
Justin Harris, president of the Glendale Law Enforcement Association, one of the city’s two police unions, says the department was overly harsh in its punishment of Arreola. He said Arreola was caught up in the investigation into Fisher.
“This was . . . ruling with a heavy fist and basically making an example out of him,” Harris said, referring to Arreola. “He was an outstanding cop. He did his job.”
The department also scrutinized Arreola for sending sexually and racially charged messages to other officers over his patrol car’s mobile-data computer.
In one instance, Arreola asked to meet with a female officer so they could make out and he could watch her pat down a woman in police custody, according to the report. Another time, he referred to a Hispanic as “funny, stupid, illiterate.”
While Harris acknowledged the messages showed “poor judgment,” he said the situation could have been addressed with a lesser punishment and that those types of messages “have been going on for years.”
“He was made the example of,” Harris said of Arreola.
