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Officer's Time Sheets In Question

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE and GEOFF FOX

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 16, 2008

ZEPHYRHILLS - In one day, Sgt. Robert Perrault Jr. logged 21 hours for the city's police department and Pasco-Hernando Community College, where he has taught criminal justice classes for two years.

According to city records, on April 9, 2007, Perrault billed the police department for nine hours, his regular shift. The same day, he taught two courses - from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. - at PHCC's Dade City campus.

That night, he also taught a four-hour traffic stop course.

Time sheets submitted to the city and PHCC raise similar questions for at least a dozen days in the past two years.

Perrault, one of two men at the center of an investigation into payroll discrepancies at the Zephyrhills Police Department, resigned from the force last week. In his resignation letter, Perrault, who headed internal affairs for the department, said his decision was not related to the investigation.

He did not return several phone calls seeking comment for this story.

Most of the discrepancies in Perrault's time sheets happened in 2007 and couldn't be explained because the city doesn't have a record of what shifts he worked on the days in question.

City officials have concluded their investigation of the complaint against Perrault and police Chief Russell Barnes, but they are not releasing the findings until Monday because Barnes has requested to respond in writing to the findings.

The complaint was made July 29, the same day Barnes and Perrault were put on paid leave.

"Under Florida law, the officer has an opportunity to address the findings in writing before they are released," City Attorney Joseph Poblick said Friday. "Until then, we can't discuss it."

Because of that, city officials also declined to discuss the allegations against Perrault.

Perrault Scheduled To Teach

Barnes remained on paid leave Friday. As Perrault's supervisor, Barnes was responsible for signing off on his time sheets.

Perrault, 35, has been offered a job teaching criminal justice at Zephyrhills High School. He applied for the job, which must be approved by the school board, on July 17. That was two weeks before he was placed on administrative leave.

He also is scheduled to teach at PHCC this fall.

A former Hillsborough County corrections officer, Perrault joined the Zephyrhills Police Department in 1999 and worked his way up through the ranks. He was transferred from patrol to detective duty in 2006 and was voted the department's officer of the year in 2005. Before he resigned, he was one of the top men in the department, serving as its spokesman and head of internal affairs.

Perrault was making $22.63 an hour.

On his most recent performance evaluation in December, his supervisor, Capt. Rob McKinney, credited Perrault for "excellent overall performance" and his "willingness to take on tasks when no one else is willing."

Still, in December 2007, Perrault received a written reprimand from McKinney for not checking the validity of time sheets turned in by Officer Benjamin Beson between Sept. 14 and Dec. 7, 2007. Beson was under Perrault's supervision at the time.

"Sgt. R. Perrrault gave permission for Officer Beson to document his time and turn in compensatory sheets in some cases months later," McKinney wrote in the report. "Sgt. Perrault also failed to supervise by not checking the validity of the reports and approving them without question."

Beson was not accused of falsifying his time sheets, according to city records.

Punishment May Prove Difficult

Now that Perrault has resigned, there's not much the city could do to punish him, should the complaint against him be sustained, City Manager Steve Spina said.

In his resignation letter, Perrault offered to remain with the police department part time to complete several internal affairs investigations. He also asked to stay on as a reserve officer.

Perrault also indicated he will be seeking more than $17,500 in back pay, including 550 hours of accrued sick time, 210 hours of vacation time and 16 comp-time hours.

At PHCC, Perrault taught courses to police cadets.

He makes $23 an hour for teaching mostly four-hour classes.

Documents show Perrault has earned the respect of his superiors at the college, where he received an associate's degree in criminal justice with honors five years ago.

"Perrault is able to provide a strong presence in the classroom, using his experience and knowledge to impart the curriculum to the students," James Lefevre, director of PHCC's Law Enforcement Programs, wrote in a letter of recommendation to the Pasco County school district. "An institution that employs Perrault will have a valued team member and a role model for the students."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 948-4216 or cwade@tampatrib.com. Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

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