When LAPD Cmdr. Nicole Mehringer was caught drunk in an unmarked police car with a male subordinate with whom she was romantically involved, her actions drew a rare public rebuke from the chief of police.
The 2014 allegations against Mehringer and Sgt. James Kelly amounted to “a severe breach of their duties as police officers not only to obey the law, but to be an example,” then-chief Charlie Beck told a TV news reporter.
Both officers ended up facing alcohol-related criminal charges. But from there their career paths diverged. Mehringer was sent to a board of rights, a military-style tribunal where officers facing termination or lengthy suspensions can appeal their punishment. Even though the charges against her were eventually dropped, the board ruled against Mehringer, and she was fired. Kelly kept his job.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.