A Fort Worth police officer was caught spending nearly two hours on a city computer viewing more than 300 web pages “associated with ‘mature’ themes,” a disciplinary memo dated May 24, 2010 stated.
Sgt. J.C. Ost was suspended for one day last month for violating the city of Fort Worth firefighters’ and police officers’ civil service rules and regulations.
The websites were viewed between Sept. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009, according to the memo, which was signed by Fort Worth chief of police Jeffrey Halstead. NBCDFW obtained the memo using the Texas Open Records Act.
Halstead noted Ost’s web viewing habits on a city computer showed a lack of good judgment and moral character on behalf of the officer, who is in a supervisory position within the department.
“Sergeant Ost’s actions of spending on duty time surfing the web was inappropriate resulting in his suspension without pay. This is not representative of the professional image the Fort Worth Police Department or the community expects from its employees.” Lieutenant Paul Henderson said in an email to NBCDFW.
The types of websites Ost visited were lingerie and adult products websites, Henderson said. He stressed the websites did not show any nude or sexually explicit images.
Ost has been with FWPD for 20 years, and is currently assigned to the department’s East division, according to records.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The officer could not be reached for comment at his office or home.
