That is the question left outstanding after the state Department of Correction today released a devastating dismissal letter written to Charlotte city councilman Warren Turner. Ten pages of details portray Turner as absolutely indifferent to doing his full-time day job as a probations officer. The letter also indicates that the city of Charlotte provided the state with Turner’s cell phone records, a detail which has been obscured.
As a result the DOC seems to catch Turner repeatedly misrepresenting how he spent his time during work hours. Most glaringly, according to the state Turner requested overtime to meet with offenders and conduct drug screenings on April 27. City phone records indicate that Turner made 31 phone calls and talked for 144 minutes between 8:30AM and 8:30PM, the letter states. That day Turner and his attorneys made time for a lengthy interview with WBTV’s Steve Crump that afternoon. Yet DOC says Turner reported working 11 hours that day.
The DOC terms that “unacceptable personal conduct.”
I call it positively delicious. The state used the time Turner spent trying to spin the city’s investigation of him as grounds for firing the guy. Much more grim, however, are the indications that Turner did not supervise his probationers properly, to the point of making up contacts with them.
DOC says that Turner claimed to have had a face-to-face contact with one offender — IDed only as CC — in Charlotte in March who had actually moved to Maxton in November — and was charged with communicating threats there in January. This unknown offender was convicted on those charges in April.
The state also documented 19 other cases in which Turner muffed reporting home contacts in some manner and the details of 14 cases where DOC said Turner did not contact offenders for months or perform drug screens in a timely manner. And this after a May 2009 written warning was given to Turner urging him to improve his performance the state letter relates.
Were any of those offenders Turner missed arrested and charged with additional crimes during the time Turner was supposed to be supervising them? Were any convicted? The letter does not say so one way or another — which is why we need the names.
As you can see, Warren Turner’s issues go far beyond any supposed grab-ass or risque talk down at the GovCenter. The picture painted by the state is of a man who thinks the rules do not apply to him.
Bonus A-Ha: Kinda obvious now why Turner was so adamant back in January that Marcus Jackson’s personnel file not be released even the to city council — let alone the public.
Update: Turner now has “no comment in regard to personnel matters with my past employer.” What a joke.
Update II: Here’s WBTV trying to recover from swallowing everything Turner and his lawyers said for the past four months.
