By Ben Krimmel
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police force’s motto is "Protecting Those Who Served."
But a report published Monday in The Intercept details widespread abuse by VA police officers including unlawfully striking veterans, falsifying arrest reports, conducting improper searches, and ignoring basic police protocol.
The Intercept found "dozens of credible allegations that VA cops in every corner of the United States have neglected standard police procedures, violated patients’ constitutional rights, or broken the law," after reviewing news reports and legal documents over the past decade.
In 2018, a VA police officer was sentenced to 12 months behind bars and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for using "excessive force" against a patient and employee he was arresting at the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis. The officer shoved and repeatedly punched a person, federal authorities said.
Horror stories of VA police misconduct detailed at Congressional hearing
In this instance, the VA said in a statement the behavior of officer Michael Kaim "runs counter to VA's values."
"VA has made clear that it will hold employees accountable when they fail to live up to the high standards taxpayers expect from us, and that’s exactly what we did in this case," the agency said.
The Intercept spoke with Derrick Hathaway, a Marine veteran who served in Kosovo, who suffered injuries during an arrest in 2015. Hathaway was left bruised and bleeding from a two-inch gash on his forehead by officers at the VA Medical Center in Phoenix.
Hathaway, a bad paper veteran after a failed DoD drug test, reached a $25,000 settlement with the department after serving 16 months behind bars for assaulting one of the arresting officers. A spokesman noted the settlement "included no admission of liability or fault on the VA’s part.”
The five officers who allegedly caused Hathaway’s injuries all remain on the VA police force.
The VA police are a federal law enforcement agency of over 4,000 officers tasked with securing facilities and protecting patients, visitors, employees, and VA property. However, insight into the department's handling of such breaches of protocol is hard to come by.
A Dec. 2018 audit from the VA’s Office of Inspector General, concluded the "VA did not have adequate and coordinated governance over its police program to ensure effective management and oversight for its approximately 4,000-strong police officer workforce at its 139 medical facilities." The OIG report indicates there was little tracking or assessment done to combat misconduct in any meaningful way. And little oversight of officers, partially because of confusion in the VA over which agency had authority to hold the department accountable.
The Intercept alleges VA caps training lasts just 400 hours, far below requirements for many local officers, and the curriculum focuses little on how to police in the VA environment.
Training at the Little Rock, Arkansas academy dedicates two hours to “veteran-centered policing,” one to “crisis intervention,” and one to “post-traumatic stress disorder.” And despite a spate of suicides on hospital grounds across the country, trainees receive just one three-hour lecture on “suicide awareness and prevention,” per a 2019 training curriculum The Intercept obtained via a public records request.
11 warning signs of suicide, and 4 things you can do to help
How to #BeThere for veterans contemplating suicide
As of Sept. 2017, the report concluded 74 percent of police units had not been inspected to "provide a check on the adequate implementation of critical program operations such as physical security and rapid response activities, and identify any corrective actions needed."
The OIG report writes the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement did not reinspect the officers at the Chicago VA Medical Center despite identified concerns the officers there were "not consistently advising suspects of their constitutional rights during arrests."
In addition to a lack of oversight, the OIG noted the police force suffers from under-staffing, with 18 percent of positions unfilled and officer vacancy rates of 20 percent or higher at 40 percent of the 139 medical facilities.
A VA spokesperson told The Intercept the police force is undergoing reforms based on the OIG report and its recommendations.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact the Veteran Crisis Line 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 (select option 1 for a VA staff member). Veterans, service members or their families also can text 838255 or go to veteranscrisisline.net.
Want to get more connected to the great stories and resources Connecting Vets has to offer? Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
