BRPD Officer falsifies military document to get time off, receives 4-day suspension

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Fast forward to August 2021, Jones attempted to receive paid time off from his police officer job, telling his supervisors he had “drill” for the US Army in Alabama from Aug. 27-29, 2021. According to documents obtained by Unfiltered with Kiran, Jones told his supervisor verbally on Aug. 26, 2021 that he was to report to drill the next day. Caught by surprise at the request, his supervisor told him he needed to provide military orders to qualify for the time off, but Jones did not have it readily available. Instead, he opted to take “sick time” for the weekend. But because several other officers had already requested off for Aug. 27th, Jones was told he would be required to provide a doctor’s note when he returned.


MILITARY LETTER OFFICER JONES FORGED

However, when Jones did go back to work, he said he had a sick note for his supervisors but was told he had to turn it into Health & Safety. Jones said he did not turn it into Health & Safety and still had it in his possession. It’s why Officer Jones was then ordered by his supervisor to provide proof that he was at drill while he was off from BRPD. That is when Jones forged a “letter” from the US Army.

The letter was made to appear as if it was from the Department of the Army with a Dept. of Defense seal. It was titled “Memorandum for Foxtrot Company 4-323d Regiment Personnel.” It read:

“On the dates of Aug. 27-29 SGT Jones was to report to Montgomery Alabama to our Battalion Headquarters in regards to our MUTA & Drill Weekend. SGT Jones was needed in attendance due to his position as 4-323rd as SUPPLY Sergeant. SGT Jones is in charge of all our equipment.

Please accept this MEMO as an excuse for SGT Jones’s absence on the following dates. SGT Jones will provide any upcoming drill dates and will keep you informed if Drill dates move or shift.”

According to BRPD documents, Jones said the reason he told supervisors about the “drill” the day before he was scheduled to arrive was because “…it was originally up in the air whether he was to report due to it possibly being canceled due to Hurricane Ida and Covid. He stated he was just told that they wanted him in on Friday for the weekend.” Plus, Jones wanted Aug. 27th off because he had “personal stuff going on.”

Unfiltered with Kiran is told Jones’ supervisor called the Army and was told the unit Jones said he had drill for had been deactivated at least eight months prior and that the letter was fake. Another questionable part was that the letter had no official signature from anyone at the unit or the Army.

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Despite Jones’ admissions of falsifying a military order and the statements from the Army, Chief Paul only disciplined Jones with a 4-day suspension. Per their own policies, Jones should have been suspended for a minimum of 15 days.

Policy violations are put into three categories or classes for BRPD. Class 1 is the least serious while a class 3 violation is the most egregious. The discipline for a class 3 violation can include termination.

Per BRPD policies, if an officer gets a second class 3 violation within 3 years of his/her first class 3 violation, a minimum of 15 days suspension and up to termination is recommended. This was Jones second time facing a class 3 policy violation within two years.

Officer Jones was previously disciplined for an incident caught on his body camera from Dec. 2019 in Tigerland. Specifically, it was on Dec. 29, 2019 around 2am after LSU won against Oklahoma in the 2019 Peach Bowl. Jones was dispatched to the area for a possible fight and was found to have threatened people with his taser inappropriately and used excessive profanity including the n-word in a large crowd.

His body camera captured the entire scene where Jones said things like:

“Hey! Bro! Go the f*** home man! Damn! Go get some pussy or something bro! F***! For real bro. Like y’all trippin”
“I ain’t playing with n****s bro”
“Bra, I’m about to beat his arse right here bro”
“F***! Damn bro! Go get some arse man! Y’all n****s bullshitten. F***!”

What was seen on Jones video caught his then captain’s attention, who sent an email up the chain of command within BRPD, including directly to Chief Paul.

According to BRPD documents, Jones admitted he was not trained to use his taser to intimidate and added he was using it to “gain compliance.” But internal affairs investigators said that Jones “…immediately unholstered your taser upon arriving at the scene, arced your taser on at least four occasions while on scene, threatened to use your taser on a subject, and followed a number of subjects as they were walking away from the scene while pointing your taser at them.”

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