Memo: Fired officer ran 86 unofficial computer checks

Marana Police Chief Terry Tometich fired Officer Calvin Ingram Tuesday. He had been on paid leave since Aug. 12.

In a memo dated Sept. 16, Tometich advised Ingram that he was being considered for termination for the following reasons:

• On his way to a briefing in March, he drove at high speeds and activated the emergency equipment on his police vehicle even though he was not responding to an emergency.

• In June, a man complained to the Marana Police Department that Ingram had run a search on him using his police computer and then shared the information with the man's girlfriend at the time. The Pima County Sheriff's Department was able to confirm that Ingram had run a check on the man who filed the complaint.

Further investigation of that matter revealed that between Oct. 1 and Aug. 12, Ingram "conducted 86 separate inquiries that were not conducted for law enforcement or criminal justice related purposes," Tometich wrote in the memo. Of those, two queries were on current Marana Police Department officers and another was on a former department employee.

The memo was intended only to put Ingram on notice that he was being considered for termination and was not meant to be an exhaustive list of the reasons for termination, Tometich wrote.

Tometich informed Ingram that he was invited to a pre-action meeting Monday in advance of the proposed termination date, which was Tuesday.

Town records show that Ingram did not go to the meeting but sent Tometich an e-mail at 10 a.m. Monday saying he felt he didn't commit any actions that warrant termination and that he planned to appeal if he were terminated.

Ingram had worked as a police officer for the department since Jan. 9, 1999 and was earning a base annual salary of $58,510 when he was fired, according to Marana Human Resources Director Suzanne Machain.

Marana spokesman Rodney Campbell said he could only add that there is an ongoing investigation.