Cop Shoots Self; Convicted of Fraud
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Would you shoot yourself in the chest for a few days off from work?
Jeffrey Stenroos, a Los Angeles school police officer, has been convicted of several felonies and misdemeanors following his claim that he had been shot by a car burglar. It appears that Stenroos shot himself in the chest (protected snugly by his vest), and then claimed that the armed gunman had fled.
What followed was the deployment of over 550 police officers and the lockdown of the surrounding neighborhood for over 10 hours. The city is seeking $350,000 in restitution for the costs of the manhunt and Los Angeles Unified School District will try to recover the $58,000 paid for medical costs.
If the idea of shooting yourself and then filing a false report sounds familiar, it might be because you watched the HBO series “The Wire” and remember one particular police officer.
The damage this fraud does to the police officers actually injured in the line of duty is immeasurable.
It is often difficult to expose frauds in workers’ compensation – there are doctors that facilitate the fraud and applicant’s attorneys that turn a blind eye. Everyone, after all, wins out except … the employer, the insurance company and California’s economy.
But fraud must be investigated and punished as often as possible. The upfront costs seem prohibitive, and the long-term benefits are not measurable. But the effect is there, fraud investigation and prosecution deters fraud and discourages it. Police officers in California who had the same idea as Mr. Stenroos will hopefully think twice about cheating the system for some days off and extra money.