Sheriff candidate Cooper used fianc?e?s position to get interview questions in advance
By Nate Kelly
August 21, 2008 - 10:24AM
Walton County Sheriff's candidate, Tom Cooper, wanted to be prepared for an interview for the job of deputy director of the Walton County jail. He had his then fianc?e, Christine Bell Cooper, emergency operations planner, get a copy of the interview questions beforehand, according to Gary Mattison, human resource director for Walton County.
The questions were public information. However, on May 2, 2007, Bell Cooper was given a Level 1 reprimand for misuse of a public position, a violation of Florida Statute 112.313.
"If anyone did anything wrong it was me, for not marching to the HR office and getting the questions myself," Tom said.
According to Bell Cooper, she does not believe she did anything wrong by providing a public record. "I'm a servant of the county and I did what I'm employed to do," she said.
Seeing the questions in advance did not give him an upper hand, according to Cooper. "Most of them were common sense questions, especially for anybody with law enforcement experience," said Cooper.
Mattison learned of the situation, shortly after the request and discussed it with Cooper before holding the interview on Feb. 28, 2007.
However, Cooper's prior knowledge of the questions did not affect his prospects of getting the job, since the county was looking for someone with jail experience and a more qualified candidate applied, according to Mattison.
"Our questions are open ended," Mattison said. "They are intended to find out the person's experience and background."
Discipline levels for the county start with a formal counseling, then proceeds to a Level 1 and Level 2 reprimand, followed by a suspension and finally dismissal, according to Chris Mitchell, public information officer for Walton County.
By Nate Kelly
August 21, 2008 - 10:24AM
Walton County Sheriff's candidate, Tom Cooper, wanted to be prepared for an interview for the job of deputy director of the Walton County jail. He had his then fianc?e, Christine Bell Cooper, emergency operations planner, get a copy of the interview questions beforehand, according to Gary Mattison, human resource director for Walton County.
The questions were public information. However, on May 2, 2007, Bell Cooper was given a Level 1 reprimand for misuse of a public position, a violation of Florida Statute 112.313.
"If anyone did anything wrong it was me, for not marching to the HR office and getting the questions myself," Tom said.
According to Bell Cooper, she does not believe she did anything wrong by providing a public record. "I'm a servant of the county and I did what I'm employed to do," she said.
Seeing the questions in advance did not give him an upper hand, according to Cooper. "Most of them were common sense questions, especially for anybody with law enforcement experience," said Cooper.
Mattison learned of the situation, shortly after the request and discussed it with Cooper before holding the interview on Feb. 28, 2007.
However, Cooper's prior knowledge of the questions did not affect his prospects of getting the job, since the county was looking for someone with jail experience and a more qualified candidate applied, according to Mattison.
"Our questions are open ended," Mattison said. "They are intended to find out the person's experience and background."
Discipline levels for the county start with a formal counseling, then proceeds to a Level 1 and Level 2 reprimand, followed by a suspension and finally dismissal, according to Chris Mitchell, public information officer for Walton County.
