Three FCSO Employees Resign On Heels on Damning Internal Investigation
For approximately eight years, rumors circulated like wildfire throughout the Franklin County Sheriff's Office about a rogue sergeant who worked private security at local businesses while on the county clock, charged at least one of those businesses an exorbitant amount of overtime he didn't work, falsified FCSO time sheets and slacked off on his duties to the point where some of his co-workers say he rarely wore a uniform and came and went as he pleased.
The FCSO's Internal Affairs Bureau investigated and concluded that these weren't allegations, but facts and that Sgt. David Jenkins' two supervisors also failed to investigate the claims or report them to the IAB. Sgt. Jenkins' personnel file is void of any misconduct complaints.
The IAB's three-month investigation stated that Sgt. Jenkins, along with his supervisors, Maj. David Oyer and Lt. Paul Karl violated several FCSO policies and procedures grounds for suspension or termination.
Based on the IAB's 58-page report, it could also be argued that the FCSO could charge Sgt. Jenkins, who joined the FCSO in 2001, with felony theft.
FCSO IAB REPORT
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Despite the IAB's shocking findings, Sgt. Jenkins, Maj. Oyer and Lt. Karl were allowed to resign with their pension and retirement benefits. According to their personnel files, both Maj. Oyer and Lt. Karl joined the FCSO in 1991.
When I asked Franklin County Asst. Prosecutor Jeanine Hummer, why Sgt. Jenkins wasn't charged with a crime; she replied in an email, "Mr. Sussi, thanks for reaching out. It is the FCSO that determines, which questions if any questions, it wants to respond to." To date, the FCSO hasn’t responded to my questions..
"People are pissed that Jenkins wasn't charged," said an FCSO sergeant who agreed to talk with me if I didn't identify him. "They (FCSO employees) are also pissed that it went on so long and not addressed."
The IAB's probe began last July after FCSO Det. Pete Wickman informed IAB lieutenants Dan Johnson and Dean Graham about a conversation with Deputy Mike Christie and Franklin County Facility Security Unit officer James Walker about Sgt. Jenkins and allegations of misconduct. The investigation quickly mushroomed, with the IAB interviewing no fewer than 17 "co-workers, subordinates, supervisors as well as anyone else who might know of the allegations," according to the the IAB's report.
SGT. JENKINS HAD LONG HISTORY OF DOUBLE-DIPPING
Eight years, that is how long the IAB figures through hours and hours of interviews and research that Sgt. Jenkins worked Special Duty assignments while on the county clock. "That situation went on for years," said my FCSO scource. "The Sheriff (Dallas Baldwin) knew about it, and several Chiefs knew about it. No one cared to address it. The level of neglect is astounding."
In their interviews with the IAB, Maj. Oyer and Lt. Karl stated they were aware of the allegations and had been for years, and on more than one occasion, confronted Sgt. Jenkins about them. But why didn’t they file a formal complaint, investigate or at least pass on the information to the IAB?
Maj. Oyer said that "he never had any solid information to go off of to look into the matter" and conduct a formal investigation, to which the IAB responded that its investigation started "based on the exact information that was considered common knowledge around the department."
Maj. Oyer said many of the allegations came from what he referred to as the "knitting circle" - which he explained to the IAB is a group of deputies who have a boring job and have nothing better to do than stand around and talk.
James Walker, an officer in the Facility Security Unit, the same unit where Sgt. Jenkins worked, told the IAB that he addressed his concerns about Sgt. Jenkins with Maj. Oyer, and according to Officer Walker, Maj. Oyer said, "This is my fucking kingdom over here. Nothing gets past me. You got a complaint, it comes to me, and it stays here." Maj. Oyer denied that he made that remark.
On more than one occasion, Maj. Oyer stated that he spoke with Sgt. Jenkins about the allegations and even ordered Lt. Karl to "keep track of Sgt. Jenkins to make sure the rumors were not true."
Not true, according to Lt. Karl who told the IAB that he confronted Maj. Oyer about Sgt. Jenkins and said, "This isn't right. This is a problem. This needs to stop." Lt. Karl said he wanted to draft a formal complaint about the allegations, but Maj. Oyer told him not to do it. Lt. Karl said he also recommended that Sgt. Jenkins' Special Duty privileges are suspended.
Maj. Oyer told the IAB that supervisors never came to him with issues regarding Sgt. Jenkins.
Over the years, Lt. Karl told the IAB that "he has received at least eight different complaints on Sgt. Jenkins" and admitted that he never produced a formal complaint. Lt. Karl said he did talk with Sgt. Jenkins about the allegations. "He (Sgt. Jenkins) always had an answer when confronted about the allegations."
IAB CONFRONTS SGT. JENKINS WITH DAMNING EVIDENCE
The IAB gathered plenty of statements about Sgt. Jenkins' long history of alleged misconduct. What it did not have is evidence. So, it collected collected payroll and overtime records, leave requests records, Special Duty timesheets and logs, and GPS records of FCSO-issued vehicles from February 11, 2022, to July 18, 2022
The IAB discovered that between April 4, 2022, and July 7, 2022, Sgt. Jenkins had 54 hours in unaccounted time, overtime he didn't work, and overtime he received while working Special Duty assignments.
When confronted with the evidence, Sgt. Jenkins said, "At no point, to my knowledge, to the best of my knowledge, did I fraud the Franklin County Sheriff's Office." In its report, the IAB stated that Sgt. Jenkins repeated several times that he didn't work Special Duty while on the county clock.
In its investigation, the IAB also discovered that between February 11, 2022, and July 18, 2022, on 27 different dates, Sgt. Jenkins falsified timesheets while working Special Duty at Kroger, 3588 Gender Rd. and claimed 90 overtime hours that he didn't work.
When asked about his Special Duty work, the IAB stated that Sgt. Jenkins "became noticeably nervous and uncomfortable." Sgt. Jenkins said that "the documents are what they are" and that he made some bad choices.
NEGLECTED JOB DUTIES
Sgt. Jenkins worked in the Facility Security Unit. Among his duties was to make weekly visits to check on deputies assigned to outlying Franklin County facilities, including Children's Services locations, Job and Family Services, and Veterans Services.
The IAB reviewed GPS records from February 2022 to July 2022 for the marked cruiser assigned to Sgt. Jenkins' unit, and noted that the cruiser did not visit any outlying buildings during Sgt. Jenkins' duty hours.
Deputy Mike Christie told the IAB that "deputies who work at those locations have never seen Sgt. Jenkins and do not ever know what he looks like." Lt. Karl added, "Sgt. Jenkins floats in and out, and Maj. Oyer lets him."
In its investigation, the IAB noted that between June 12, 2022, and July 14, 2022, Sgt. Jenkins was observed on surveillance cameras on 14 different days arriving to work without wearing his uniform. Co-workers stated that Sgt. Jenkins often came to work wearing tactical military-type pants, a black tee shirt, black windbreaker with no gun belt.
IAB concluded that Sgt. Jenkins was "unprepared for duty during his shift and would have been unable to respond to emergency situations appropriately."
Sgt. Jenkins told IAB that he left his uniform shirt in his case and has a uniform shirt in his office. He said he would wear the uniform shirt if he needed to go "somewhere in the building or anywhere else."
IAB RECOMMENDS ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES BE BROUGHT AGAINST SGT. JENKINS, LT. KARL AND MAJ. OYER
The IAB concluded that Sgt. Jenkins falsified FCSO and Special Duty timesheets, worked Special Duty assignments while on the county clock, failed to perform job duties, and often didn't wear his uniform while at work.
The IAB stated that both Maj. Oyer and Lt. Karl failed to address, document, or forward the allegations to the IAB regarding Sgt. Jenkins, adding that Maj. Oyer "even stifled attempts of others to do so."
The IAB wrote that Lt. Karl also failed to manage Sgt. Jenkins and hold him accountable for neglecting his job duties, including Sgt. Jenkins regularly working out of uniform.
A source told me that, "We are just so relieved to have them gone," referring to Sgt. Jenkins, Lt. Karl, and Maj. Oyer resigned after the IAB's investigation. "It is like a dark cloud has lifted over that division. Some folks would have liked to see them charged (criminally), but most of us just wanted the situation addressed and those guys gone by any means necessary."
The FCSO sergeant added, "Had you not intervened, they would still be there. There is no doubt of that. That situation went on for YEARS until you shined a light on it."