http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/0427tr-tranter0427Z10.html
Apology ends letter dust-up, Manley says Chief asked for lighter sentence for councilwoman's son
Jahna Berry The Arizona Republic Apr. 27, 2006 12:00 AM
Police Chief Ralph Tranter's apology Tuesday to Police Department employees closed the books on the controversy that began when he wrote a letter suggesting a light sentence for a councilwoman's son, according to a note from the city manager.
"Your apology to departmental staff was clearly heartfelt and genuine," City Manager Will Manley wrote in a Wednesday memo, which also praised Tranter's "superlative" 30-year record on the police force. "As far as I am concerned, this puts the matter to rest. This has been a painful learning experience for all involved."
City workers filed an internal complaint when they learned that the police chief wrote a letter recommending probation in the sentencing of Colby Carter, Councilwoman's Barbara Carter's 32-year-old son.
Colby Carter was arrested in Tempe on March 18, 2005, on suspicion of five felony counts of growing and possessing marijuana. He was sentenced March 3 to two years' probation, four months' work furlough and the minimum of 240 hours of community service. Work-furlough inmates go to work while they are incarcerated but spend the rest of their time in county custody.
Although Carter faced up to three years in state prison for the Tempe arrest, Tranter wrote an Oct. 4 letter to the court recommending probation. After city employees complained about the letter, the city spent $15,000 for an outside attorney to investigate.
The chief and Councilwoman Carter have both stressed that Tranter volunteered to write the letter, that it wasn't written on city letterhead and that Tranter didn't mention his title in the letter. Although Tranter has said he has written other letters like it, he acknowledged in the investigation that during his tenure as chief, he's never written another letter recommending probation on behalf of a defendant.
Tranter violated the city's personnel rules and the police code of conduct, and impaired city employees' performance when he wrote the letter for Colby, Phoenix attorney Jon Pettibone wrote in a report for the city.
Sarah Muench contributed to this report.