DARE Officer's firing: part of an alarming trend at the Mooresville Police Department

Though the Mooresville Police Department has found an officer to take over the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program for fifth graders in the Mooresville Graded School District, many people are still talking about the recent firing of Matt Burleyson, the Mooresville officer who headed up the program for years.

But perhaps what only a few people know is that Burleyson is just the latest casualty in a long string of officers who have left, or been fired from, Mooresville’s police department.

In fact, 59 officers are currently employed by the Mooresville Police Department, according to Human Resources. But in the past nine years that John Crone has been chief of police, we’ve lost an alarming number of officers – 71 to be exact. Of those, 57 resigned, 11 were fired and only three retired.

Crone fired Burleyson on May 13 – just after the school year’s DARE graduation.

According to Report sources, Burleyson became involved in some “petty politics” at Mooresville Intermediate School during the 2006-07 school year and was consequently pulled off the DARE program. At that time, the police department hired a female officer for the position, but she ended up not being suited for the job, so Burleyson was put back on the program for 2007-08.

It is customary for Mooresville police officers to carry in their patrol cars donated, child-friendly items – such as stuffed animals and bicycle helmets – to share with area children in an effort to establish and build rapport and communication. The items are also meant to be given to child-victims of crime and trauma. At the end of this school year, Burleyson gave three stuffed bunny rabbits from the trunk of his car to two Mooresville Intermediate School office personnel – including two to MIS Principal Julie Morrow – to take home to their children, sources say.

Sometime later, Burleyson asked Morrow, in light of the drama that had transpired the previous school year, if all was well between the two of them. Morrow apparently told Burleyson that everything was fine, and Burleyson asked Morrow if she would relay that to the police chief.

Sources say Morrow instead reported to Crone that Burleyson’s gesture made her feel “uncomfortable,” and shortly after that, Crone fired Burleyson for using “public property for personal gain.”

Morrow declined to comment on Burleyson’s firing this week, referring all Report questions to Crone. She said that she “cannot respond to your email because this is a police personnel issue.”

Crone did not respond to e-mails from the Report this week, in which he was given the opportunity to clarify or dispute any of the Report’s information about Burleyson’s firing. We also asked Crone if the bunny rabbits were returned to the police department. Though Crone did not respond, he signed a “read receipt,” acknowledging that he opened the e-mail on Tuesday.

Here’s a breakdown of the number of Mooresville officers who have resigned, retired or been terminated since 1999:

· In 1999, we lost eight officers – six resigned and two were fired.
· In 2000, five officers resigned.
· We lost seven officers in 2001 -- six resigned and one retired.
· Six resigned in 2002.
· In 2003, six officers left -- five resigned and one retired.
· In 2004, the town lost eight officers – six resigned and two were fired.
· In 2005, seven officers left the Mooresville Police Department – three resigned and four were fired.
· We lost five officers in 2006 -- four resigned and one retired.
· In 2007, the number of officers leaving the department spiked to 14. Of those, 12 resigned and two were fired.
· Six months into 2008, we’ve already lost five officers – four resigned and one (Burleyson) was terminated.

To compare Mooresville's police turnover to that of other area police departments contacted by the Report, click on the chart below:



The police departments of Statesville and Kannapolis have lost about as many officers as the Mooresville Police Department in the last five years -- Statesville lost 41, Mooresville lost 46 and Kannapolis lost 47. The difference is that Statesville employs 74 officers, and Kannapolis employs between 71 and 81 – compared to Mooresville’s 59.

The City of Monroe’s police department has 84 sworn officers – 25 more than Mooresville. In the past three years, 18 Monroe officers – an average of six per year – have resigned, retired or been terminated. Mooresville lost 26 (eight more than Monroe) in the same number of years.

A significantly larger percentage of officers have left Mooresville than the City of Hickory’s police department, too. Hickory’s department had between 105 and 114 authorized positions from 2005 to 2007 – almost double that of Mooresville. And in those three years, 29 officers resigned, retired or were fired from the Hickory Police Department. Mooresville, with half of Hickory’s police force, lost 26 officers in the same period of time – only three fewer than Hickory.

The City of Concord’s police department has a total manpower allocation of 156 – well more than double that of Mooresville’s. And in the last three years, 28 officers have left Concord. Of those, eight were retirees. Mooresville lost 26 officers in the same amount of time. And only one was a retiree.

Likewise, the City of Gastonia’s police department has employed between 152 and 168 sworn officers since 2002. In six years, Gastonia lost 90 officers – an average of 15 per year. Of the 90, one-third (29 officers) were retirees.

Compare that to Mooresville, with a police force of 59, which lost a whopping 46 officers from 2002 to 2007. And only two of those 46 were retirees.

So far this year, the City of Gastonia has had three police officers separate from the department. The Town of Mooresville is already up to five.

We may not know exactly what the problem is, but this much is clear: There is a problem in our police department.