By Kathleen Cullinan
Naples Daily News
LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lee County corrections officer was fired this week for refusing to work overtime and for criticizing the jail facility as a “mess,” authorities said.
Two months after Justin Rogers was targeted for an internal inquiry at the sheriff’s office, allegations of neglect of duty against the 25-year-old officer were upheld. He was let go on Tuesday, about six years after his hire date.
“Rogers advised he has a life outside of work,” an internal affairs investigator wrote in the final report, released today, “and no matter how many hours he works, the Agency will always be short personnel.”
The investigation began in June with reports that Rogers had three times refused or failed to show up for work at the Stockade Facility on Ortiz Avenue, without apology.
Authorities said the first incident was on May 13. Rogers was scheduled for regular duty but never arrived. According to the sheriff’s report, his supervisors the next day told him to write a letter explaining what happened, but instead the officer jotted his account in an e-mail.
"(Rogers) berated both the facility, referring to it as a ‘mess,’ and the officers working day shift, indicating they should never (have) made it past field training status,” the report says. Later, when his supervisors confronted him in person, “Rogers also stated he hated working here and most of the officers are dumb asses.”
In an interview with the internal affairs investigator, Rogers reportedly said he was struggling in his personal life with a recent divorce and the loss of his daughter, who had moved with his ex-wife out of state.
The officer told the investigator he was leaving the sheriff’s office soon and “just doesn’t care” if his behavior was inappropriate.
The second incident came about three weeks later. The stockade was short an officer and a sergeant tried to get Rogers to come in. The officer, according to reports, refused.
Rogers reportedly said he had plans for the night, and later told the investigator “he is working towards moving out of state in the near future and has more important things than overtime to worry about.”
Finally, on June 14, Rogers was expected for a mandatory overtime shift. Again, the report says, he didn’t show up.
Allegations against Rogers that were found substantiated include: neglect of duty for failing to work overtime; insubordination in criticism of orders and policies; and insubordination in respect toward superiors.
Copyright Naples Daily News 2007