FLORIDA -- A Hollywood police officer suspended amid allegations she neglected and abused her dog was ordered Tuesday to turn in her take-home patrol car.
However, Officer Ashley Reed, 27, a three-year veteran of the force, will be allowed to continue living rent-free as part of the department's Officer Next Door Program until the outcome of her case is determined. That process could take several weeks.
Reed was charged with misdemeanor animal neglect Monday after staff at the Hollywood Animal Clinic reported to police that her 16-month old male pit bull, Hurricane, was suffering from severe malnutrition and had injuries on his face, stomach and feet.
Reed dropped the dog off at the clinic late Sunday, Hollywood Police Capt. Tony Rode said.
Monday's suspension is Reed's second for 2003. She was suspended in January for reporting extra duty hours when ordered not to work them, records show. Last month, she was reassigned from patrol to administrative duty.
A review of her personnel file revealed Reed was the subject of at least three internal affairs investigations in the past three years.
She was given several unsatisfactory performance evaluations in 2002 and 2003 for mishandling property, disregarding the safety of a citizen who called for help, failing to comply with the department's arrest policy and failing to submit written reports.
She submitted her resignation April 24, 2001 and then rescinded it the same day, records show.
Until the city decides her fate, however, it will continue paying her monthly rent of $925.
Reed is one of about a dozen officers living rent-free in what the department calls "high service demand neighborhoods." In return, they sign a contract promising to stay in the residences, mostly single-family homes, for three years. Reed moved into the small Hollywood home in May 2002, police department attorney Joel Cantor said.
"That privilege can be yanked away at any time," Cantor said. "It depends on how the chief dictates the future of this officer. If the officer continues as a uniformed police officer, then she may very well continue in the program.''
The Officer Next Door program, which began five years ago, costs about $100,000 a year and is funded by drug forfeiture money.
(Sun Sentinel - December 24, 2003)
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