Officers in off-duty trouble

After a week in which new revelations emerged almost daily on the arrest and firing of a North Charleston police officer, the department revealed that three other officers recently have run afoul of the law while off duty.

On Friday, Police Chief Jon Zumalt called the arrests of off-duty officers a "very troubling trend." He outlined the cases in a news release:

--In June, Timothy Ramsey, a patrol officer, was charged with DUI in Idaho. Ramsey was in his personal vehicle at the time. He pleaded guilty and was fired.

--On Dec. 30, Hampton Jenkins, a neighborhood resource officer, was arrested on a DUI charge in Colleton County while off duty in his personal vehicle. Jenkins is on administrative duty pending the outcome of the case.

--A school resource officer, Tamara Ortiz-Negron, was arrested in Summerville and charged with criminal domestic violence after an incident involving her husband while she was off duty. She is on administrative duty pending the outcome of the case. The release did not say when Ortiz-Negron was arrested.

Effective with a special order the chief signed on Jan. 11, an employee who is arrested will be suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal case, the release said.

The release also mentioned Nicholas Lomma, who was fired Monday after he wrecked his squad car while off duty early Saturday in Colleton County and was charged with DUI by the S.C. Highway Patrol.

North Charleston Police Department officials initially declined to release information about Lomma's departure because it was considered a "personnel issue" and later refused to release his performance records without a written Freedom of Information Act request from the newspaper, which was subsequently filed.

Zumalt on Tuesday said that Lomma did not have any prior disciplinary issues and praised him as a good officer.

But on Wednesday, as the department slowly began releasing records that had been requested by the newspaper, Zumalt said Lomma had admitted firing his weapon on Friday for target practice. It also was revealed that Lomma received a written reprimand from a deputy chief for contributing to a wreck while responding to a call for service.

Zumalt said he was initially unaware of the incident and that it was not located in their files when they checked it Tuesday.

He went on to say he didn't know what was causing what he perceives as a change in off-duty behavior, but he recognized that a troubled economy may be taking an emotional toll on police officers and that their work has become more stressful.

"We are working together to identify early warning signs to prevent this from happening again," Zumalt said.

Zumalt announced that all of the city's officers will be meeting in coming weeks with chaplains from the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy.

Effective Monday, Zumalt wrote, the chaplains, along with police majors and captains, "will hold team meetings throughout the department to discuss ethics, responsibility and to educate our workers about the wide range of resources available to them."

He said the chaplaincy will work with the city's Human Resources Department to find ways to help employees deal with job stress, financial stress and family or personal problems.

The department also will explore recreational activities to increase team-building, the release said.

Andy Paras contributed to this report. Reach David W. MacDougall at 937-5655.