D.C. Council member Kathy Patterson questioned the ability of a police officer to effectively work the equivalent of 14 hour days, every day of the year.
One 40-year veteran police officer, Frank Buentello, last year worked 2,192 hours of overtime, the equivalent of 6 hours of overtime a day, 365 days a year, according to an Examiner review published Monday.
Buentello earned $149,000 just from the extra work. Thirty-two officers logged more than 1,000 extra man-hours.
Patterson questioned whether anyone could effectively work those kinds of hours.
“No matter how good of a cop you are, if you’re working 24-7, I question the quality of work,” Patterson said.
Patterson has been a longtime critic of the police department’s overtime. The department cut the amount of overtime hours by a third after a Patterson-led review found ways to curb court-related overtime.
Police Chief Charles Ramsey defended his overtime policy and Buentello’s workload before a police oversight committee earlier this year. An audit found no instances in which officers violated any departmental policies or regulations, Ramsey said.
“Yes, Buentello worked a lot of overtime in 2005 and throughout his career,” Ramsey said. “But I certainly wouldn’t mind if everyone were as dedicated to the department and the city as he is.”
With 40 years of service, he has seniority over most of the force, and a high-priority in selecting overtime.
Seventy-five percent of Buentello’s overtime was not funded by local tax dollars, as it was earned through reimbursable or grant-funded details. Because of his longevity, Buentello would have earned more than $100,000 even if he had not worked any overtime, Ramsey said. In all, Buentello earned more than $250,000, about $75,000 more than Ramsey.
Labor union spokesman Sgt. Delroy A. Burton said Buentello never takes his leave, and instead, donates his time to officers who need off because of a catastrophic illness.
“He’s a real worker,” Burton.
Two years ago, the FBI honored Buentello for helping to break up a fake identification card ring in Adams Morgan.
Officers were paid time-and-a-half for their work, with some top earners making $90 an overtime hour. Seven officers earned more than $100,000 in overtime. Seventy-two of the department’s 4,251 employees earned more than $50,000 in overtime; 188 earned more than $30,000. The average MPD employee earned more than $7,000 for OT.
The police department recently instituted an 18-hour rule requiring officers to take at least eight hours off after working 18 hours within a 24 hour period, sources said. The rule was instituted because long hours undermine the officers job performance, health and safety, sources said.
The Examiner report came as the D.C. council approved $8 million to pay for the overtime during the 30-day crime emergency declared by Ramsey earlier this month. The D.C. police department racked up more than $30 million in overtime last year, a 15.4 percent increase from the previous year.
Police administrators defend the overtime, pointing out that most of the overtime is reimbursed through grants, by third parties or through details that pay for themselves.
