The Sheriff of Newaygo County has taken action against the unnamed deputy who appears in the video above openly admitting to fixing quotas for tickets and arrests, a practice illegal under Michigan state law.
The deputy — referring to himself as “a numbers guy” — was attending a County Commission meeting seeking approval to accept a $15,000 grant meant to fund overtime for officers as part of a drunk driving enforcement program.
“I know you’re not allowed to do it by federal law and state law, but I do put stipulations on the numbers I want to see by the end of their shift,” the deputy can be heard explaining to the Commission. “In the past, the guys who can’t perform numbers have been removed from all overtime for that particular grant, for the remainder of the year.”
Sheriff Patrick Hedlund released a statement after the video was brought to his attention.
"After watching the video I immediately took action and this employee was disciplined internally according to the progressive discipline protocol as outlined in his union contract and department policy."
— Jake Grover (@jacob_grover) March 2, 2015
Hedlund, who is new to the position, said he also investigated whether or not this had been a previous policy within the department, and that he “interviewed every police officer in this agency and not one officer made me aware of any quota in place.”
"The public should rest assured that if I discover any instance of 'quotas' or any other wrongdoing, I will immediately forward the matter to an outside agency for criminal investigation."
Allowing police departments to set quotas for tickets is currently a matter of state law. In Michigan it’s illegal, while in other states, it may be allowed. Illinois recently passed a law banning the practice and Arizona is currently considering a ban.
In California, police quotas are against the law, and the City of Los Angeles had to pay out millions of dollars in settlements in 2013 to officers who sued over the imposition of a secret quota system by employers.
Like the scheme outlined by the Michigan deputy who describes denying overtime to officers who don’t make quotas, the LAPD officers said they were penalized if they didn’t reach a certain number of tickets a month.
— Alice Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) March 2, 2015
