By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
One was arrested as a teenager for armed robbery. Another was allegedly involved in an arson. A third admitted having sold marijuana.
The 15 recruits dismissed by the U.S. Capitol Police this week had some serious problems in their backgrounds, according to new details provided by police and congressional sources. The fact that the recruits were hired anyway, and only removed after they had completed several weeks of training, has roiled the force and led to congressional inquiries.
The recruits are contesting their dismissals, a congressional source said. Some are maintaining they only committed minor offenses, such as stealing a street sign while attending college. Officials have said they will fire recruits who do not resign or appeal.
Capitol Police have yet to explain how the recruits could have been hired and sent to a training academy in Georgia despite failing employment criteria such as background investigations and psychological exams. The reasons for the lapse are under investigation.
The U.S. Capitol Police labor committee was so upset by the revelations that it debated holding a no-confidence vote Thursday night on Chief Phillip D. Morse. The committee, part of the Fraternal Order of Police, decided to hold off and instead conduct a poll during the next week on officers' opinions of the chief. The recruits are not union members.
"Clearly, something went wrong when a police department doesn't know about possible felony violations in someone they just hired," said Michael J. Detorie, an officer who brought up the no-confidence motion. He said that while the chief had been strict about holding veteran officers accountable for mistakes, he "has yet to acknowledge an error or accept any responsibility. . . . It just rubs everybody the wrong way."
Morse said in a statement that he valued his relationship with the labor committee's chairman, Matt Tighe. "I find him to be someone I can work with to overcome challenges in order to meet our shared goal of moving the U.S. Capitol Police forward and ensuring the best for our officers," Morse said, adding that he planned to meet soon with the union leader.
Legislators have expressed dismay over the hiring blunder, and the Senate Rules Committee has scheduled a hearing next month to examine the case. But key lawmakers and congressional staff appeared to still have confidence in Morse.
"It seems they're taking appropriate actions to deal with the mess-up," said Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.), chairman of the House subcommittee on Capitol security, which has held two closed-door sessions on the issue.
Terrance W. Gainer, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, who helps oversee the Capitol Police, said Morse is "a dedicated professional."
"He loves the department, and he's trying to do the right thing," said Gainer, who once led the force.
The Capitol Police human-resources director, Jennifer McCarthy, has been put on administrative leave for her part in the hirings. While she had been under pressure to resign, she apparently has not done so.
Capitol Police have declined to give details about what disqualified the recruits, but according to police and congressional sources, some had committed serious offenses. One recruit, for example, was arrested as a juvenile for armed robbery, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue. The record in the case is sealed, and the outcome was unknown, the sources said.
Three others admitted criminal activities for which they had not been arrested, including setting fire to construction equipment and selling marijuana, the sources said. The sources did not provide names or further details.
Labor attorney John Berry, who is filing appeals for seven of the dismissed recruits, said that under Capitol Police regulations, the chief is supposed to review candidates' applications and disclosures before they are offered jobs. It "begs the question of whether or not he did his job," he said.
Berry said some of his clients had committed minor infractions.
One of the recruits, for example, was part of a group of 15 college students who stole a street sign, Berry said. The student was charged with a misdemeanor that was later expunged from his record, he said, adding that the recruit had acknowledged the incident before being hired.
The same recruit told Capitol Police officials that as a 13-year-old, he had been with a cousin who was getting high by inhaling the gas in a whipped-cream can. The young man tried to mimic his cousin, "but was too clumsy to do it," Berry said, adding that the recruit had never used illegal drugs. The incident was listed in the recruit's dismissal letter.
"If every person were held accountable for their actions as 13-year-olds and disallowed from job opportunities because of those actions, there would be a paucity of employment in the world," Berry told The Washington Post in an e-mail.
Some recruits were dismissed for non-criminal issues. They included failing a psychological evaluation and providing false or misleading information during the hiring process, officials said.
Gainer said Capitol Police applicants' names are typically run through several databases to check for criminal records. In addition, officials do background checks, examining the applicants' school and work records and interviewing neighbors, he said.
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