Opa-locka has the dubious distinction of employing the cop who cant be fired. Though the city keeps on trying.
Sgt. German Bosque of the Opa-locka Police Department has been disciplined, suspended, fined and sent home with pay more than any officer in the state.
He has been accused of cracking the head of a handcuffed suspect, beating juveniles, hiding drugs in his police car, stealing from suspects, defying direct orders and lying and falsifying police reports. He once called in sick to take a vacation to Cancún and has engaged in a rash of unauthorized police chases, including one in which four people were killed.
Arrested and jailed three times, Bosque, 48, has been fired at least six times. Now under suspension pending yet another investigation into misconduct, Bosque stays home and collects his $60,000-a-year paycheck for doing nothing.
MANY more details here
Also, a timeline of events from the story:
TWENTY YEARS OF TROUBLE: GERMAN BOSQUES RECORD
1990
February 7: Two weeks short of graduating from the Miami-Dade police academy, Bosque is arrested for driving a stolen truck, possession of a firearm and impersonating a police officer. He was carrying a fake police badge, a semi-automatic weapon and wearing a black T-shirt with POLICE inscribed on the back. Though later acquitted, he was tossed out of the police academy. At the time, he vowed to try to re-enter the academy.
1992
June 10: Arrested in Jacksonville, jailed for two days and found guilty of driving with a suspended license.
Aug. 16: Hurricane Andrew strikes South Florida. Bosque is hired in Florida City, which is desperate for police in the wake of the storm.
1993
Asked to leave the Florida City after his supervisors discover his tainted record. He is hired as an Opa-locka officer
1994
Sept. 8: Four are killed in a chase involving a stolen car that sped through Opa-locka but crashed outside the city. Bosque had been following the car shortly before the crash. Questions were raised about whether he was pursuing the vehicle against department policy.
1998
March: Suspended five days for an unauthorized police pursuit outside the city.
May: Five-day suspension for another unauthorized police pursuit.
May 22: Bosque calls in sick, complaining of food poisoning, in order to vacation in Cancún.
1999
Feb. 1: Bosque attempts to stop a motorist driving with no headlights. The driver flees at high speed, and Bosque pursues the vehicle until it crashes into a tree. Bosque lies to his superiors, telling them he cut off the chase, then waits 15 minutes, calls in the crash on his personal cell phone as if he had arrived at the scene well after the accident. He is suspended for 20 days.
Sept. 5: Allegations of excessive force are filed by a man who claims that Bosque kicked and punched him repeatedly while he was handcuffed. Deadline to investigate complaint expires. No action taken.
2000
March 1: Bosque is terminated following a high-speed police pursuit that violated policies.
June 12: Bosque is rehired after the PBA successfully wins arbitration.
Aug. 28: Bosque punches a 14-year-old boy three times in the head, telling the youth: I am the law, if I feel like it right now I can f--- you up and no one will say nothing to me. The assault is witnessed by a fellow officer and Bosque admits striking the boy. The state attorney declines to prosecute.
August 31: Suspended one day for failing to cooperate with the city attorney and for skipping a meeting to go on a trip to Key West.
Dec. 8: Bosque is fired in connection with the incident involving the juvenile.
2001
February 26: Bosque is rehired.
May 8: Bosques girlfriend reports that Bosque slapped her in the face while they were sitting in his personal vehicle, then slapped his own face and called police, telling them that she had battered him. An investigation subsequently showed that Bosques facial injuries were self-inflicted. Investigators recommended he be terminated immediately. Charges of lying under oath and making a false police report are dropped because the department failed to initiate disciplinary action within 60 days.
July 30: Disciplined for making a false statement on a police report while under oath.
2003
Feb. 12: Man files a complaint alleging he was stopped by Bosque, who ordered him to place his hands on his patrol car. Bosque patted him down, removing $55 from his shirt pocket. Bosque returns all his property except the money. Complaint not sustained.
Sept. 16: Suspended for five days without pay for failing to turn in police reports, after being ordered to do so by a supervisor. .
2004
Jan. 19: Suspended for 45 days after he beat a handcuffed suspect bloody while the suspect was in custody. The victim was beaten until bloody and there was blood spilled all over the station house floor.
March 3: Suspended 15 days without pay for excessive force, spitting on a suspect and using racial epithets. State places his police certification on probation.
May 27: Suspended for one day after he refused a direct order to handle a call, telling his supervisor: This is bull---.
July 15: Suspended for three days without pay for beating a man in the sally port of the Miami-Dade County jail.
July 22: Accused of fondling a corrections officer inside his locked police car. He receives no discipline because investigators said the woman admitted she failed to say no.
Oct. 16: Charged with a misdemeanor after he packed an undeclared loaded handgun in the cargo luggage at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport. Case was later dropped after he told police his girlfriend had packed the bag.
2005
Jan. 27: Bosque is terminated after an internal affairs probe finds that while under suspension with pay Bosque was moonlighting during work hours as an ambulance driver.
Sept. 28: City settles with Bosque, allowing him to be reinstated in exchange for a three-month suspension without pay.
2008
Feb. 7: Narcotics evidence in two of Bosques cases is missing. A vehicle inspection of Bosques patrol car uncovers several crack pipes, Florida auto tags, several ID cards and an empty Smirnoff vodka bottle. Investigators said the properties should have been properly bagged, labeled and impounded. Subsequently, IA investigators find that a baggie of suspected cocaine he seized a month earlier also was not placed into evidence, and was also found in his car. The state attorneys office declines to prosecute, saying that there was no corrupt intent.
Jun 12, Bosque is terminated by Opa-lockas city manager, against the police chiefs wishes.
July 17, Bosque is reinstated with back pay after the FOP files a grievance.
August 15: Bosque is terminated by city manager again in connection with the Feb. 7 search of his police vehicle.
Nov. 2008: City settles with Bosque, returning him to the force.
2009
Feb. 7: Man says Bosque swept his legs out from under him, punched him in the stomach and cuffed him after he tried to come to the aid of his mother, who was being treated by paramedics. The complaint is unsustained.
2010
Feb. 19: A mechanic observes damage to the undercarriage of Bosques car. Police also find a number of Florida drivers licenses and a counterfeit $20 bill.
March 15: An internal affairs investigation is launched into suspicious behavior by Bosque during the night hours. Bosques superiors suspect that Bosque had been stopping young women as they leave the Lexx Club, a local strip joint. They are not able to prove their suspicions.
July 12: A 16-year-old boy playing basketball alleges that Bosque slapped him twice in the head. The internal affairs case is dropped when investigators let the case expire.
2011
Jan. 24: Promoted to sergeant
2012
May: Bosque is suspended with pay after he allows a newspaper reporter to ride in his police vehicle without permission. During the unauthorized interview he gloats about how many times he has been arrested and suspended. Im an excellent police officer but I break the rules, he says.
