Police pair taped discussing where to steal air conditioner

05/11/02

Two Homewood police officers have been fired after they were caught on tape plotting to steal an air-conditioning system, city officials say.

John W. Springfield and Kathy Henderson were fired Wednesday after an internal investigation, Homewood Mayor Barry McCulley said Friday.

McCulley said the two patrol officers were fired for "conduct unbecoming police officers." He said he did not expect arrests.

According to a report filed by the city with the Jefferson County Personnel Board, the following conversation took place between the officers while sitting in Henderson's patrol car April 19:

Springfield: "I got to steal me a central heating and AC system."

Henderson: "Reckon there is construction somewhere around?"

Springfield: "Thought I might steal out of West Oxmoor off Oak Grove at that all-old-folks place."

Henderson: "They probably watch that pretty good. Is there some houses being built somewhere right off Lakeshore in Birmingham? You hate to steal from your own damn city."

Patrol cars are equipped with 24-hour video and audio monitoring devices.

Both officers denied having had the conversation to a superior officer, according to Homewood police records. They have appealed their firings to the Personnel Board, according to a board official.

Efforts to reach the two officers for comment Friday were unsuccessful.

Springfield had been with Homewood police since November 2001 and Henderson since December 1994, Police Chief Charles Trucks said. Both were employed by the Birmingham Police Department before joining Homewood, he said.

Springfield was serving as a backup to Henderson during a traffic stop immediately before the alleged conversation. Police department records say Springfield "failed to follow training rules and regulations" by talking on his personal cellular phone and not acting as an "observer" and covering a fellow officer.

Trucks said the situation affects everybody in the department.

"You work with people. You form a trust and a bond," Trucks said. "You certainly don't like to take any kind of action, but we have a higher standard of ethical values than what you would expect from the public.

"The charges and the result, I felt, were appropriate," Trucks said. News staff writer Patrick Hickerson contributed to this report.