Sgt. Stacey Suro, a 20-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, has been suspended while internal affairs investigates if she violated the department’s policy that "employees shall exhibit professional conduct at all times and shall not engage in any activity, including unlawful activity that would degrade or bring disrespect upon the employee or the department.” Most American law enforcement agencies have identical policies.
Suro, a 42-year-old single mom, had posted more than 100 racy photos on ModelMayhem, a website for amateur and professional models. In some of the photos she was naked and in some she was dressed in bondage gear. Some of the poses were ‘sexually suggestive.’ Suro did not pose in a police uniform, nor did she identify herself as a Houston cop. Unfortunately for Suro, the photos were viewed and passed around by other HPD officers who obviously browsed the internet for risqué photos.
Suro is likely to be fired for her off-duty photo poses. If she doesn’t get fired, she will surely get a long suspension without pay and or a reduction in rank. But should a -20-year veteran with a good record be disciplined for posting racy photos of herself in cyberspace? I think not!
It has been said that police work is 95 percent utter boredom and five percent sheer terror. Because any second that terror can be lurking around every street corner or behind every door, police work is one of the most stressful occupations on the job market. The stress of police work has led to a high rate of alcoholism, divorce and suicide among cops.
The puritanical policies that require cops to walk on water while off duty are unrealistic. Cops are not Puritans. They do a lot of off-duty drinking to relieve all that stress. Like many civilians, some cops browse porno sites on the internet. Some cops beat up on their spouses and kids. Most cops drive far in excess of speed limits, both off-duty and on-duty while not on call.
And many cops drive drunk off-duty. They, like most civilians, just don’t get caught. But if they do get caught, they are given a break by fellow officers, a practice referred to as ‘professional courtesy.’
When all is said and done, if all the cops who “engage in any activity, including unlawful activity that would degrade or bring disrespect upon the employee or the department” were to be caught, there would be hardly any police officers left to protect and serve the public.
Some of those policies governing off-duty behavior have bordered on the absurd. Some years ago the sheriffs and police chiefs of Fort Bend and Brazoria counties in Texas prohibited their officers from drinking in public places within their respective counties. So how did their officers respond? They drove over to neighboring Galveston County and got rip-roaring drunk in bars that catered to cops.
That’s why I believe law enforcement agencies should rid themselves of the puritanical off-duty policies that are violated every day. By that I am not saying that we should give police officers carte blanche to misbehave.
Cops who get caught driving drunk should be arrested just like any other drunk driver. Cops who beat up on their wives should be dealt with like any other wife beater. It should be made crystal clear to officers that severe disciplinary measures, including termination, will be meted out for those kinds of behavior, and that all felonies and serious misdemeanors will be prosecuted.
But a puritanical policy that cannot be enforced unless a miscreant is unlucky enough to get caught is a policy not worth keeping. As long as that off-duty behavior does not keep a cop from doing a good job on-duty, no discipline should be called for. That is why I do not believe Sgt. Stacey Suro should be disciplined.
As for degrading or bringing disrespect upon the employee or the department, let’s get real. Does anyone really believe that the public is not aware of the shenanigans perpetrated by off-duty cops? If anyone thinks that, they must still believe in the tooth fairy. Respect by the public is not based on off-duty behavior, but on the ability of the police to provide for the public safety.
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