2007 Officer Complaints

Missouri State Water Patrol investigated three complaints against officers in 2007.  All three complaints were from individuals who had received citations.

May 5, 2007 - An officer stopped a boat for having children under the age of seven on board not wearing a lifejacket.  The boat’s operator thought the citation was unnecessary and was offended when the officer asked for his race to complete the citation.  The complaint was investigated and the findings were that the citation was justified and the race was necessary to complete the citation.

September 1, 2007 - Two officers stopped a boat for children under seven years old who were not wearing lifejackets.  The boat’s operator filed a complaint for receiving the citation and for the officers allowing his boat to drift into shallow water.  The complaint was investigated and it was determined that the officers were following department policy when they stopped the boat.  The operator had indicated that both officers were very professional and courteous. He felt the officers should have apologized for the inconvenience of letting his boat get into shallow water. The officer who investigated the incident did apologize for the incident and spoke with the two officers in an effort to prevent this type of situation from happening again.

October 30, 2007 - The Water Patrol investigated a complaint against a couple of officers at the request of a county Prosecuting Attorney (PA).  The PA had received a letter accusing the officers of drinking alcohol when arresting an individual.  The investigation was conducted and it was determined that the allegations were false.  The individual writing the letter had initiated it himself in hopes of getting out of a citation.