# Tenn. cop suspended for personal calls on duty



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Clay Bailey [email protected]

Copyright 2005 The Commercial Appeal, Inc. 
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

A Germantown police lieutenant was suspended for five days this week for unauthorized use of a cell phone on duty and violating regulations regarding personal conduct.

Lt. Jay Ford, who declined comment Wednesday, also was reassigned from the undercover unit to uniform patrol .

The action stemmed from Ford's dealings with a woman estranged from her husband. Ford pleaded guilty at an administrative hearing.

The investigation showed that for a year starting in August 2004 there were 1,215 calls between Ford's personal cell phone and the woman's, accounting for at least 83 hours of conversation while Ford was on duty. The city banned on-duty use of personal cell phones two years ago.

Deputy Chief Tom Lott said Ford told investigators he knew the man and woman from church, the calls were just to talk to her, and there was no affair.

The woman also was allowed to use the city e-mail account of an undercover detective , Germantown police said.

The issues came to light in September when Angie Lewis, the detective, surreptitiously watched - at the woman's request - a meeting between the woman and her estranged husband at Cone Park.

The husband shoved the wife but Lewis did not act. After Lewis talked to supervisors, the man was arrested on a domestic assault charge later that night.

That matter led to the investigation that uncovered the phone use by Ford and the woman using the city's e-mail account. Lewis was reprimanded for not handling the confrontation properly and not doing the paperwork in a timely manner.


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## NorwichAlum (Nov 5, 2005)

kwflatbed said:


> The city banned on-duty use of personal cell phones two years ago.


Don't they have unions? What kind of B.S. is that? 
_"Sorry Officer, you can't call your kids to say good morning and wish them a good day
at school"
_
:sb:


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