Temporary suspension of officer Adrian Duran

RECEIVED
CITY OF AUSTIN
CIVIL SERVICE OFFICE
OF
ELECTRO
March 8, 2021
STATE
3:05 p.m.
FOUNDED
1839
MEMORANDUN
Austin Police Department
Office of the Chief of Police
TO:
Joya Hayes, Director of Civil Service
FROM:
Brian Manley, Chief of Police
DATE:
March 8, 2021
SUBJECT: Temporary Suspension of Police Detective Adrian Duran #2748
Internal Affairs Control Number 2020-1665
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code, Section
143.052, and Rule 10, Rules of Procedure for the Firefighters', Police Officers' and
Emergency Medical Service Personnel's Civil Service Commission, I have temporarily
suspended Police Detective Adrian Duran #2748 from duty as a City of Austin, Texas
police officer for a period of fifteen (15) days. The temporary suspension is effective
beginning on March 9, 2021 and continuing through March 23, 2021.
I took this action because Detective Duran violated Civil Service Commission Rule 10.03,
which sets forth the grounds for disciplinary suspensions of employees in the classified
service, and states:
No employee of the classified service of the City of Austin shall engage in,
or be involved in, any of the following acts or conduct, and the same shall
constitute cause for suspension of an employee from the classified service
of the City:
L.
Violation of any of the rules and regulations of the Fire
Department or Police Department or of special orders, as
applicable.
I
2.
The employee is responsible for notifying the appropriate
supervisor two (2) hours prior to the 16th hour of the 24-hour
period. The name of the approving supervisor will be noted on
the employee's overtime assignment form.
(b)
Employees shall not work in excess of 76 hours of any combination
of regular duty, department overtime, or LERE hours within a work-
week without the approval of a lieutenant or above for sworn
employees, or the employee's supervisor/manager for civilian
employees.
Austin Police Department Policy 949.7.4(a): Secondary Employment:
Required Reporting of Overtime and LERE Hours Worked
949.7.4(a) Required Reporting of Overtime and LERE Hours Worked
(a)
An electronic copy of from PD0036D Overtime Log will be
maintained by the employee's supervisor in a network group folder
designated by their chain of command. When an employee works
overtime (this does not include mandatory/emergency holdovers,
late calls, and overtime related to workload), they will complete an
overtime log on form PD0036D and save it to the network location
within one week of the assignment to include actual locations, dates,
and times of LERE hours worked each week. The employee's
supervisor will maintain the overtime log according to the City's
retention policy. The logs will include all LERE hours worked by
the employee that week including actual court overtime (time
reported on court sign in/out log) and estimated hours worked as a
courtesy officer.
1.
This log will be reviewed and approved by the
employee's immediate supervisor on a weekly basis by
electronically initialing the form.
2.
Changes to LERE hours worked subsequent to having
been reviewed by the supervisor will require the
employee notifying their supervisor and an additional
electronic initial by the supervisor.
Detective Duran is advised that this suspension may be considered by the Chief of Police
in a future promotional decision pursuant to General Order 919.
By copy of this memo, Detective Duran is hereby advised of this temporary suspension
and that the suspension may be appealed to the Civil Service Commission by filing with
the Director of Civil Service, within ten (10) days after receipt of a copy of this memo, a
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The following are the specific acts committed by Detective Duran in violation of Rule 10:
On November 5-6, 2020, an audit was conducted by the Austin Police Department (APD)
Human Resources on Detective Duran's time sheets. The audit encompassed pay periods
from December 22, 2019, through October 24, 2020. The audit revealed Detective Duran
may have violated policy regarding the limitation on law enforcement related employment
hours worked (LERE), amongst other General Orders (GO). Thereafter, Detective Duran's
chain of command submitted multiple complaints requesting that Internal Affairs conduct
an administrative investigation to determine if any violation of Departmental Policy, Civil
Service rule, or state law had been committed by Detective Duran.
Investigators discovered that Detective Duran had worked more than 16-hours in a single
day on over 10 different occasions within the last six months, without authorized approval
from anyone in his chain of command. When presented with a spreadsheet of this
information, Detective Duran conceded to the spreadsheet's accuracy and was apologetic
for not seeking prior approval from anyone in his chain of command, including his
Lieutenant or Commander. Detective Duran further acknowledged that he had exceeded
the 16-hour time limit, without approval, on over 30 occasions during the past 12 months.
In conclusion, Detective Duran acknowledged that he violated APD GO 949.7.3 Limitation
on LERE Hours Worked. Further, Detective Duran stated that he failed to properly
document all of his overtime hours. Therefore, he acknowledged that he violated APD GO
949.7.4 Required Reporting of Overtime and LERE Hours Worked. While Detective Duran
offered that he had an unforeseen financial hardship arising due to circumstances beyond
his control that motivated his excessive over time work, he nonetheless indicated this did
not excuse him for not adhering to policy by seeking authorized approval, nor his failure
to properly document his overtime hours.
By these actions, Detective Duran violated Rule 10.03(L) of the Civil Service Rules by
violating the following rules and regulations of the Austin Police Department:
Austin Police Department Policy 949.7.3(a)(b): Secondary Employment:
Limitations on LERE Hours Worked
949.7.3(a)(b) Limitations on LERE Hours Worked
(a)
Employees shall not work more than 16 hours of any combination
of regular duty department overtime, or LERE hours within a
consecutive 24-hour period without the approval of a lieutenant or
above for sworn employees, or the employee's supervisor/manager
for civilian employees.
1.
A 24-hour period is any consecutive 24-hours, regardless of
the time the work started.
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proper notice of appeal in accordance with Section 143.010 of the Texas Local Government
Code.
By copy of this memo and as required by Section 143.057 of the Texas Local Government
Code, Detective Duran is hereby advised that such section and the Agreement Between the
City of Austin and the Austin Police Association provide for an appeal to an independent
third party hearing examiner, in accordance with the provisions of such Agreement. If
appeal is made to a hearing examiner, all rights of appeal to a District Court are waived,
except as provided by Subsection (j) of Section 143.057 of the Texas Local Government
Code. That section states that the State District Court may hear appeals of an award of a
hearing examiner only on the grounds that the arbitration panel was without jurisdiction or
exceeded its jurisdiction, or that the order was procured by fraud, collusion or other
unlawful means. In order to appeal to a hearing examiner, the original notice of appeal
the
submitted to the Director of Civil Service must state that appeal is made to a hearing
BRIAN examiner. MANLEY Chief of Police #2441 Date 02/08/21
CHIEF MANLEY
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I hereby acknowledge receipt of the above and foregoing memorandum of temporary
suspension and I have been advised that if I desire to appeal that I have ten (10) calendar
days from the date of this receipt to file written notice of appeal with the Director of Civil
Service in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government
Code.
Admi Deer 2748
3-8-21
Police Detective Adrian Duran #2748
Date
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