Two Palm Beach police officers suspended for writing too many tickets, investigators say

One officer was fired earlier for the same reason

palm_beach_police_20120621053451_JPG

File photo of a Palm Beach police car
Photographer: Wiki creative commons user CZmarlin

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Posted: 06/21/2012

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Two Palm Beach police officers have been suspended without pay after investigators say they wrote too many tickets.
 
These suspensions come after one officer was fired for the same reason earlier this year.
 
Officer Christopher Beesley will be suspended for one week while Officer William Rothrock will be suspended for two weeks, according to Palm Beach police officials.
 
Beesley more than doubled his tickets in a one month span early this year from January to February, while Rothrock more than tripled his total in the same time span.
 
The spike in tickets happened a month after the Palm Beach Town Council voted to cut police pensions.
 
A Palm Beach Police Department internal affairs report reflected both Beesley and Rothrock let the council's decision affect their work, in part leading to their ticket writing.
 
The Florida Fraternal Order of Police disputes that report and says one officer will appeal his suspension.
 
On June 5, officer William Eaton was fired for writing too many tickets. Eaton wrote 115 tickets in 16 days earlier this year.
 
Eaton's attorney says a bonus system was set up to reward high performing officers, paying up to a $6,000 bonus at the end of the year for performance. Eaton is currently trying to get his job back.
 
Beesley and Rothrock were working yesterday.
 
Palm Beach public safety director Kirk Blouin said it's not yet determined when the officers' suspensions will take place.

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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