Brittney Sears

Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)

Officer Brittney Sears separated from the Plainfield Police Department while an internal affairs matter was pending, on a sustained untruthfulness charge. The record states that on 19 February 2023 Sears backed into a telephone pole, damaged her assigned patrol vehicle, left the scene, and failed to report the accident to her supervisor. The investigation found she was untruthful when questioned and in her official reports. Sears resigned on 26 August 2023.

Synopsis as reported by the agency

On 19 February 2023, Officer Sears backed into a telephone pole, causing damages to her assigned patrol vehicle. Officer Sears failed to report this incident to her immediate supervisor. At the conclusion of the Internal Affairs investigation and a thorough review of all the official reports submitted, body worn camera footage, emails and photographs, it was confirmed that Officer Sears caused damage to city property. Officer Sears left the scene and failed to report the accident. Officer Sears lied when questioned by her supervisor's and also in her official reports. At the conclusion of the investigation,the complaint against Officer Sears was sustained and she was found to be untruthfull. Officer Sears was facing a 2 month suspension for the first offense, listed above, and facing termination for this second offense. However, the city and her attorneys agreed for Officer Sears to resign . Officer Sears resigned on 26 August 2023.

Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)

In a separate matter, Officer Brittney Sears separated from the Plainfield Police Department while an internal affairs investigation was pending, on a sustained untruthfulness charge. The record states that after Sears was denied a vacation day she had requested for Christmas Day, she called out sick and then reported in writing that she was out with a headache and a sore throat. The investigation sustained the untruthfulness finding.

Synopsis as reported by the agency

On 17 July 2022, Officer Sears requested a vacation day for Christmas Day, 25 December 2022, noting “child care issues”. Officcer Sears was informed her request would be denied and then tried several different ways to get the day off. Officer Sears then made it known amongst her peers that she would call out sick if she wasn’t granted the day off. After she was officially denied time off she called out sick, and upon returning to work she was ordered to write an official report. In her Official report she wrote she was out sick because of a headache and a sore throat. During the Internal Affairs investigation, Officer Sears was ordered to submit a separate official report and explain her actions. Officer Sears claimed she had no choice but to call out sick because she was denied the day off on a short notice. This investigation sustained the finding of untruthfulness, and Officer Sears was facing a 2 month suspension. However, during this investigation, a separate incident occurred involving Officer Sears, which prompted a separate Internal Affairs investigation.