After a recent rash of wrecks and officer suspensions, the Columbus Police Department is starting up an in-house driving school.
Patrolman Gregory M. Harstad just received his certification as a driving instructor, clearing him to begin teaching his fellow officers — all of them, on a rotating schedule — in July, said Police Chief Joseph St. John.
Between the driving classes and the suspensions of four officers, St. John said he hopes officers will be more careful with city property.
Four squad cars — originally priced at $107,598 — have been totaled this year, two by the same officer, Rebecca Lomax.
“It”s never OK to have that many cars wrecked,” St. John said.
With depreciation and $40,817.90 in insurance payouts, the wrecks have cost the city about $10,000, Chief Financial Officer Mike Bernsen estimated.
On top of that, there”s a possibility that the wrecks could drive up insurance premiums next year, although it”s “too soon to tell,” he said.
But the wrecks have hurt more than the city”s pocketbook. Three women were injured in the latest wreck, when Lomax pulled into a busy intersection and collided with another car, sending its three occupants and herself to the hospital.
For the wreck, which was her second this year, she was suspended 30 workdays without pay. Including the city”s 12-percent match for retirement, her effective earnings rate of pay for those eight-hour days would have been about $3,802.
Counting Lomax, six officers have been suspended this year, although not all for wrecks, said Columbus Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong.
“I suspect (the number of suspensions) is higher than normal,” Armstrong continued. “We”ve seemed to have had more accidents this year for whatever reason.”
The city has just started taking discipline for wrecks more seriously in the last three years or so, St. John said.
“Even though we”ve had a rash of problems, we have a firm disciplinary policy,” he added.
Although the number of wrecks are higher than usual for the city — and even higher than that in the county — they haven”t hurt the department”s crime-fighting abilities, St. John said.
The department recently bought five refurbished squad cars from the Missouri Highway Patrol that have offset the wrecked cars.
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