The second-highest ranking officer in the Florida Highway Patrol is stepping down after acknowledging he wrote an email in May encouraging troopers to write at least two tickets per hour.
In the latest fallout from an ongoing investigation into whether troopers were told to meet a traffic-ticket quota, Lt. Col. Michael Thomas, a 30-year veteran and deputy director for the FHP, submitted a letter of resignation on Monday, indicating his last work day will be Friday.
In reviewing emails, Thomas said he found a May 31 email referring to a special program, known as the Statewide Overtime Action Response, aimed at curbing speeders. The email said, in part, “so we can encourage our members to maintain our 2.0 citations per hour ratio, as we attempt to provide a safer driving environment for Floridians.”
“In hindsight, I can see how this memo sent to the chiefs (regional commanders) could have been interpreted as an order for their supervisors to ask for 2.0 citations per hour,” Thomas said in his resignation letter. “This was a grave error on my behalf and should not be considered a negative reflection on the chiefs or other members of command that may have sent similar emails.”
“I made this mistake and take responsibility for my actions,” he added.
Thomas’ resignation came after Maj. Mark Welch, a troop commander who oversees eight counties near Tallahassee, announced his resignation earlier this month, after acknowledging he sent a July 28 memo to troopers that they interpreted as a mandate for a ticket quota, which is illegal under state law.
“The patrol wants to see two citations each hour,” Welch wrote. “This is not a quota; it is what we are asking you to do to support this important initiative.”
After Welch’s memo was brought to the attention of Terry Rhodes, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which oversees the FHP, she directed the agency’s staff to review whether there had been any other directives that could be viewed as a quota.
“You have my commitment here today that no quotas will be tolerated within the Florida Highway Patrol,” Rhodes told Gov. Rick Scott and Cabinet members, who oversee her agency, during an Aug. 16 meeting.
The subsequent review turned up Thomas’ May 31 email, which was sent without the authorization of Col. Gene Spaulding, director of the FHP.
“Although Lt. Col. Thomas’ emails were sent with the intention of ensuring accountability of our members and providing enhanced public safety, it was inappropriate to request a specific number of citations from our members,” Spaulding said in a statement.
“FHP does not set quotas as part of its mission, therefore I have accepted Lt. Col. Thomas’ request for early retirement,” he said.
Spaulding noted Thomas’ “dedication and commitment” to FHP during his 30-year career, saying it “will not be forgotten.”
The FHP’s review of directives that could involve ticket quotas is continuing, with agency officials saying any further personnel decisions will be made on a “case by case” basis.
–Lloyd Dunkleberger, News Service of Florida
Lonzo brown says
They should be writing 4 per hour the way speeders fly everywhere
Go Speed Racer says
Injustice by Law Enforcement is just wrong. But come on’ these guys don’t need quotas to bust speeders in Florida. They could do probably write up four an hour with their eyes closed. This is just politics at its worst.
Seminole 36 says
I witness so many infractions every time I pull onto I-95, or most any FL road for that matter, that he should probably have resigned for having even suggested a quota, unless he was perhaps hinting that a minimal effort be made by troopers to cite the flagrant violators that populate the highways and byways in this state. Lord, politics in policing is just wrong. I’m sure most readers have witnessed law enforcement officers of all ranks in their cars failing to cite motorists that fail to signal a lane change, make right hand turns from the left lane, make excessive noise (mufflers? what are those?), expel noxious, black exhaust and on and on. I’m sure Michael Thomas meant to light a fire under troopers that otherwise would just be punching a clock or looking for that ‘big collar’ that would earn them something other than an ‘attaboy’ from their commanders. Sorry to lose a good man…
Staying alive on I95 says
So he knows setting quotas is illegal then writes an email setting a quota but clearly states that it is not a quota. This man has a career in Washington DC!
John D. says
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the letter was only intended to encourage members to go out and do their job as outlined in state statutes. This was in regards to an overtime program that was designed to increase visibility on the roadways and to target aggressive and dangerous drivers. Members are paid time and 1/2 to perform this duty the real letter said for commanders to attempt to encourage their member to obtain two contacts per hour in the interest of public safety. It was also penned after learning that a majority of the personnel working this program, were not working, rather they were sitting at their homes over 50% of the time. The definition of Quota is not defined in statute even though it states you can not impose one. This additional sub-section was added due to smaller police agencies that were creating revenue by issuing tickets to pay for positions, equipment and pay increases, as they receive a portion of the fines. The Highway Patrol does not receive any funds from the issuance of citations, so there is no gain for issuing citations other than trying to increase public safety. Even though members are encourage to issue citations, there has never been any discipline action taken for the lack of issuing citations and the Highway Patrol Policy Manual clearly outlines that members have discretion in performing their duties. This allow members to issues citation for more serious violations, or warnings for minor violations, correction notices for faulty equipment or just having a discussion on safety and the possible result of bad driving actions. The word quota in this case was a narrative pushed by a few individuals who were under investigation for sitting at home at the expense of you the public to deflect from their own cases. To suggest that a police agency can not ask for performance, goals, objectives and accountability for hours worked, is an open door for employees to do absolutely nothing but drive around all day. Politics are politics and this is just another example bad decisions made to silence a story rather than expose the truth about members sitting at home. If you review the amount of citations issued and crashes you will find that since this Colonel left overall activity is down over 50% and traffic crashes with death and injury are increased. Accountability is accountability. Moral of the story is only believe about 10% of what you read. The truth always lies int he middle.
Ray W. says
Hello John D. Thank you for insights into an agency’s policy and procedure manual and how some individuals find ways to personally benefit from neglecting their responsibilities under those policies and procedures.
As a former prosecutor, some of my early learning experiences came from watching and listening as certain law enforcement officers described the actions or inactions of fellow officers from either their own agencies or other agencies. Of course, criticisms of certain policies and procedures also found many voices.
As an example, which I have mentioned in a previous comment, for just under 25 years I traveled to various racetracks around the country with a now-deceased former Metro-Dade deputy sheriff. We had plenty of time to talk about the law and how it was implemented, from different perspectives. One of his stories involved a fellow deputy who seemed to have an unusual capacity for spotting irregularities in parking patterns during early morning hours near business districts. Time after time, the deputy would call for back-up in anticipation of catching burglars in the act. Time after time, the deputy was correct in his intuitions and the other deputies marveled at his abilities. Then, supervisors deemed traffic control was more important and reassigned that deputy to details involving writing traffic tickets. Reports of unsolved burglaries quickly rose in the business districts that the deputy had previously patrolled. Wasting that deputy’s special intuitions so that more traffic tickets could be written seemed counterintuitive to my friend. He recognized that some deputies were better suited to traffic control than others.
As an aside, I also go to baseball games a couple of times per year with a retired Baltimore police officer. His former job, while often hazardous, had its benefits, too. My friend once told me his earning an assignment to a team that responded to harbor emergencies, with the team being housed in a building on a spit of land overlooking a long dock. He talked of freighter crews visiting them and sharing stories and then leaving the officers vast quantities of excellent unused food. The freighter crews reprovisioned for each voyage while in port and the unused food from the last voyage was given to his team. Best assignment he ever had.