Fraud investigation at Tacoma Police Department finds weakness in payroll oversight
Payroll discrepancies at Tacoma Police Department from 2018 to 2020 led to a police lieutenant being paid for hundreds of hours of work when he was on leave, according to a fraud investigation report from the office of the Washington State Auditor.
The misappropriation of $21,499 led the police department to make several changes to its payroll oversight, including reviews of time card submissions, an annual “random review process” for time cards and a biweekly payroll report to identify time coded as “Acting Sergeant/Lieutenant.”
According to the report, published March 31 and first reported by MyNorthwest.com, the City of Tacoma was able to recoup the misappropriated funds by reducing the police lieutenant’s leave balances by 276 hours when he retired in November 2020.
The lieutenant was LeRoy Standifer, TPD confirmed. Standifer joined the department in 1985. The state auditor’s office said the fraud investigation would be referred to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to determine if further action is necessary.
Spokesperson Adam Faber said Wednesday the prosecuting attorney’s office had not yet received a referral.
The auditor’s report recommended that the City of Tacoma seek payment for related investigation costs totaling $3,108 from the former lieutenant or its insurance company. According to the report, the city is evaluating whether to seek restitution of fees associated with the audit.
Standifer previously sued Tacoma Police Department, alleging that he was repeatedly passed over for promotion because he is Black. According to court records, the lawsuit was dismissed in 2018.
The City of Tacoma reported the payroll discrepancies to the state auditor in November 2020 after an internal audit found several Tacoma police sergeants received acting lieutenant pay for covering one lieutenant’s shifts who, according to time cards, worked those shifts.
In reality, the lieutenant had taken 28 days off between February 2018 and June 2020 but did not record the time off in the payroll reporting system, resulting in him being paid for 276 hours that he did not work.
The city also reported the issue to the Washington State Patrol, which made the same findings as the auditor’s report. Its investigation found that Tacoma police had a work scheduling program and a payroll time reporting system, but no one was comparing the two to verify that they matched.
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
