The ongoing problem of excessive overtime at the police department is in the news again. The KVIA published this piece after this El Paso Times article came out
The KVIA piece points out the case of a sergeant that made over $60,000 per (each) year in overtime in both 2015 and 2016.
This is simply poor management. The department has a lot of “brass” (lieutenants and above) on the payroll. Either they are playing favorites, or they are not paying attention.
Most of us can understand the need for some overtime. Unfortunately there are individuals that are gaming the system and their bosses are not stepping in.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Well Brutus, someone has to sit for hours and hours in police cars in I10-GO construction areas, not moving, just sitting, watching, sitting, looking at their smartphones, sitting, running the AC, sitting, turning the emergency lights on and off, sitting. If not our men in Blue, then who?
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Poor management, no management is pretty much the way everything is run in El Taxo. That’s why TAXPAYERS are FORCED to pay out these outrageous over time checks, the equally outrageous accrued Sick Leave, Annual Leave payments. I would bet that the “Elite” in City, County Government are NOT charged for ANY Leave taken. “He’s just running late. She had to drop kids at school”. In the FEDERAL Government, workers are allowed to accrue a MAXIMUM of 60 days annual leave, which they lose any days over on 1 October each year. So at no time are they paid THOUSANDS of dollars for Leave. Sick Leave accrual is NOT limited. People get injured, have long term illnesses. Border Agents, Officers, Inspectors are “Capped” at $30,000 overtime pay per year by Federal Law. Much of the overtime is “Ordered”, not volunteer. There are few to NO Police on the streets of El Taxo. THEY can’t afford to pay them, hire more, have an ACTIVE Police Department. They simply are ALLOWED to show up, go out on a 911, WHEN something happens. Look for Patrol cars in YOUR area. $60,000 overtime for ONE Officer?? At El Taxo wages, could hire TWO Officers for that price tag. But then in El Taxo the politicians, “Managers” have UNLIMITD amounts of TAXPAYER money to waste, blow-off.
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This has been a problem for decades in El Paso and other cities around the country. All of that overtime isn’t required. The claim that all the overtime is necessary is a ruse. It’s the police chief and others gaming the system to give certain officers more money. The other game is allowing officers to wear EPPD uniforms while working private security jobs with no regard for liability. There was an overtime scandal in the EPPD several years ago. Nothing has changed. The city manager and others just turn a blind eye.
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Most cities allow Officer to wear a uniform to work outside jobs. My Son a Texas Deputy Sheriff, NOT El Paso, works a hospital ER, couple days per month, OFF duty and is paid by the hospital. NO Officer, Deputy should ever be paid by TAXPAYERS for outside events. NOT the baseball field, not the golf course , basketball games, football games, Malls, Zoo, Circus, or Festivals. The owners, Managers, Sponsors, persons putting on events should pay the Officers. NOT TAXPAYERS. They take enough from US. But then of course it might have been another Mayor Cook, City Council GIVE AWAY to their ball field. Take OUR Police off the streets and PAY for them to be at ball games. Mountain Star Sports should pay them. The TAXPAYERS get no benefits, no pay back from their ball field and just pay and pay and pay.
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Because most cities do something doesn’t make it right. If an officer is wearing an EPPD uniform and carrying an EPPD weapon while working private security, the city risks being partly liable for whatever happens. The EPPD is also unofficially and indirectly competing with private security companies.
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Agree with Riff Raff
They need pay raise and more officers…
Support your men/women in BLUE !
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I agree about Mountain Star. They should be footing the entire bill for police protection related to their events, just like every other private entity in El Paso. Our HOA gets inundated with Trick or Treaters from other neighborhoods every Halloween. We aren’t holding an event but there is a huge traffic jam with folks driving their kids in so our association pays for off duty police officers to come in and monitor traffic and activities to keep everyone safe. If we’ve got to pay for that Mountain Star should be paying for its activities.
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Are they working overtime because they are short of officers or are they getting caught on cases that require more police work to investigate in 8 hours? If it is lack of man power we. We’d more officers and more training .
Sent from my iPhone
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