Ex-Henrico officer accused in Oregon bank robbery

If an officer violates the letter of the law while off-duty and in such a manner that his role as a law enforcement official had no bearing over the incident- i.e. “on his own time”- then that is, while certainly inexcusable and worthy of punishment, not appreciably any more harmful than if any other ordinary citizen were to have committed the same crime. If, on the other hand, an officer breaks the law in the course of his function as a public servant with a sworn duty to uphold the law and the people’s interest-and especially when he uses the power and privileges of his position to enable the crime-then a great disservice is done to the integrity of our justice system and to the public’s perception of it’s effectiveness and accountability.  One can clearly understand the system’s desire to cover over the wrong doings of it’s own personnel. When an officer violates his contract with the people he’s sworn to protect and serve, there is certainly no shortage of embarrassment for the entire department, even among those officials who have exemplary records and no cause for personal blame. However, if departmental wrong doing is treated by simply sweeping it under the rug and running damage control operations to minimize the fall-out, the entire department makes itself complicit in the original crime. The only way to truly prevent this type of incident from staining the entire system is the way that would initially appear the most damaging to the department, complete disclosure of the crime, further investigation into other potential wrongdoings, a SUITABLE punishment, and efforts to redress any and all additional harms caused by the offending officer. In this way, the system exposes and repudiates those who would seek to undermine its integrity from within, which ultimately benefits not only the public notion of accountability and justice, but also the justice system itself as it seeks to cleanse itself of impediments to its pursuit of a society based on the value and fundamental effectiveness of laws. Had investigator Harpster been repremanded for his alleged charges in 2006, this new charge very possibly could not have been possible. After 30 years as a public servant, I do not believe 2006 was his first offense. When you work in the system, you’re aware of how to work the system. Not all cops are bad, just as not all people are bad, no matter their ethnic race.

metoo, a real cop wouldnt know what a personnel manual is! LOL once again we have someone who thinks he knows what a cop thinks, how a cop “should” think, what a cop knows, what a cop “should know”, how a cop should act and finally what the department says a cop must do! metoo you are the total package!

So what happened to the guy who tackled the cripple of the toilet?

What a hero.

To all that sympathize for this man. Please remember,  he was at the very end of his 30 year career as a narcotics investigator when he was arrested for selling drugs. His job was to arrest people for selling drugs. The man was what, 51 years old and already getting ready for retirement? How many readers here can say they can retire with a pension and benefits at 51? Job stress is not an excuse for breaking the law, certainly not the very law you are entrusted to uphold. This man is on all accounts, a looser, and I certainly hope he is not able to collect a pension. There are many GOOD cops that now will unfairly be judged by the greed and dishonesty this man displayed both while representing the Henrico Police force, and afterward as a former Henrico Investigator (and possible retiree). I suppose there will be some that will believe his 2006 arrest was the first time he participated in such activity, and to that I say – Unlikely!

Up It:
You are apparently a HPD employee and your user name is truly an indication.  So whatever anyone says will be incorrect.  Learned from experience. I know what I know, and Mike was a good guy when I knew him.  But things change.  Have a good evening!