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Collins v. Bd. of Fire & Police Comm'rs6/2/1980
Plaintiff, Roger Collins, appeals from a judgment of the Circuit Court of De Kalb County affirming an administrative review (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 110, par. 264 et seq.), the decision of the defendant, Board of Fire and Police Commissioners of the City of Genoa (the Board), to discharge Collins from his position as a police officer.
The relevant charges against Collins arose from three incidents which occurred in August 1977, September 1977, and March 1978. The evidence produced at the hearing concerning the August 7, 1977, occurrence (the Sanders Incident) may be summarized as follows. At approximately 4 a.m. on August 7, 1977, Collins was on routine patrol when he observed an automobile with its license plate hanging down and right headlight damaged cross the center line of the road. Collins stopped the vehicle. Its occupants were two unfamiliar black males. Collins spoke with the driver, named Sanders, and asked him to get out of the car. He determined that the driver had been under the influence of some type of alcoholic liquor due to the smell on his breath. After obtaining Sanders' consent to submit to the breath test, Collins called the De Kalb County sheriff's department and the Sycamore police department to request a breathalyzer operator, but none was available. (The Genoa police department does not have a breathalyzer of its own.) Collins admitted that he could arrest a subject for driving under the influence based on visual observation; he stated, however, that there was not sufficient evidence to win a case in court. Instead, he simply allowed Sanders to stand outside and get some fresh air "hoping that it would help to unimpair his ability." He subsequently let Sanders go.
Shortly after Collins released Sanders, he heard a police dispatch indicating that the Sanders vehicle had been involved in a hit-and-run accident in rural Aurora. Knowing that Sanders was driving eastbound on Route 72, Collins notified the State police and immediately commenced pursuit. He stopped the Sanders vehicle four miles east of Genoa on Route 72. State Trooper Elton Self arrived on the scene approximately five minutes later. Trooper Self testified that there was sufficient visual evidence to give rise to an arrest for driving while intoxicated. He also testified that, at his suggestion, Collins (the only officer who had seen Sanders driving) arrested Sanders for driving while intoxicated. Sanders was transported to Sycamore where a breathalyzer examination was given by Self with positive results.
The testimony concerning the September 9, 1977, occurrence (the Arrest Card Incident) was as follows. While on routine patrol in downtown Genoa on the night in question, Collins arrested Ronald Johnson for the possession of cannabis. Collins took Johnson to the police station, where he completed the attendant paperwork pursuant to police procedures. Collins testified that, in his haste to process the subject because there were only two officers on duty that weekend night, he neglected to have Johnson sign the arrest card. After Johnson had posted bond and left, Collins realized his oversight. Knowing that the Department of Law Enforcement and the Bureau of Identification would not accept unsigned cards, Collins signed Johnson's name.
Collins gave the paperwork to Marida Heaton, the radio dispatcher, for filing. Heaton testified that after Collins left the station, she noticed that the arrest card was not present. She then went into the officers' room where Collins had processed Johnson and found the unsigned card lying on the desk. Later that evening, Collins returned to the station, went into the officers' room, and came out in a matter of seconds with the card s
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