http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/new s/121669711511520.xml&coll=7#continu

 

very interesting...
 

Wow, this is a horrible way to treat someone. While I realize that she did lie, society sometimes dictates that we do. People with "addictions" weather it be food, drugs, or anything are made to feel inferior, that because we are judged to be unable to handle our addiction of choice people automaticly assume that we cannot handle anything. Why would this women think that she could trust her fellow officers. I work in a hospital and chose to have my surgery at a different facility just for this reason. I hear the way people talk about others that have had WLS and OMG if they gaind a few pounds!!! I was eating a SALAD the other day and someone came right up to me and aksed is THAT on your eating plan!!! WTF!!! is it any of your business and yes salads are allowed mind your own dam business. So I guess that is my rant for today... lol I think she should fight them her medical history is her business and not her bosses. Besides they would have given her the money anyway the story said... Just my 2 cents well maybe it is more like 20 cents but ok.Laurie

wow, I am totally amazed at this. I work in the health care feild and she can fight this. Hippa laws are very strict. Yes she did lie and a lie is a lie. But she was scared and people do look at you different. This was a medical fund and she had a medical need it should not matter what the need is. They should not even asked. To lose your job as a police officer for liying seems harsh when the police have great tendancies to lie to the public and in interigations.I mean come on they are known for lieing. This is the most ridiculas thing i have ever heard.It is just another prime example of how society looks at people and treats people with eating disorders.This is ridiculous UGH!!!!!!!!

I am not surprised - I wonder how those of you in the the police field view this?

I think this is a shame.  She should not have lied -she could have stated she needed an emergency medical procedure and left it at that -she paid the money back so it is not as if she was trying to keep it... she felt she had to lie about this so she would not feel shame.  The real shame is in Sizer - the Chief *****commeded she be terminated...

Must be nice to lie and feel no shame about it--sorry but that seems like a load of horse sh*t to me.
A lie is a lie is a lie--black and white no middle ground, it's how I see it.

And really would you knowingly want police officers in your town or city lying about something like WLS what would they do in their line of work?

Sorry y'all but for me she got what was coming to her--a boot to the behind.

Wow,I have been trying to decide how to tell my boss I need the time off. I think I will say an abdominal procedure...not WLS and I will also specify no gifts.LOL.
She never should have lied and the lie has consequences. That is our society. I wonder if she kept the weight off?

I've been reading quite a few posts where people are embarrassed and ashamed of telling co-workers and even family of their choice to having WLS.  I really don't get it.  I'm still pre-op (6 months diet, etc) and I couldn't wait to tell everyone I know (and their cousins) that  I'm about to have WLS.  In fact, one of the first people that I told to was my supervisor, and he is like 100% supportive. I believe because he is aware of my plans, he is being very accomodating to my pre-op doctor appointments and whatever is related to the surgery.

Very few people at work made negative comments about my decision, mostly saying that I'm "too small" to go for such radical procedure.  To those,  I just gave my PCP recommendation for WLS as a main reason, and my morbidly obese BMI.

Hiding the surgery is to a degree silly, like celebrities that swear never having plastic surgery. Won't it be obvious when you loose a bunch of weight (and keep it off) in a very short time?

That's such a load of crap. She shouldn't have to tell them what kind of surgery, it was. That's private information! Some people just blab it to anyone who'll listen! Not me. It's my health and it's not anybody's business but my own how I lost so much weight. I told those at work that I know and trust, but the other nosy bast*rds who don't know me but still have the nerve to ask me if I had wls. I tell them I eat way less and exercise more (which I do).

i work in law enforcement and here is my view..... under NO condtions are you to lie.. NONE... not even about a fart... and there is no covering up either... you have to always be forward with your command... ALWAYS.... so she screwed up there... more then majorly.... however.... i understand why she did it... police/fire depts are very cruel when it comes to making fun/jokes about people... its one of out favorite things to do..( i mean really.. where else can you put glitter in a new hires ac and whistles in their tail pipes and not get in trouble)... and yes.. it would have got around faster then crabs at a strip club... if she was truthful she would have been fine... also.. another thing i was thinking... she had 4 days of sick/vacation time... soooooo it seems to me shes also out of work alot... im sure there was more to the story then just a little fib

Personally, I don't think it's anyone's business that one is havingf WLS.  I'm an RN and I did tell the MD I worked for but I did tell my co-workers that I would prefer that when patient's asked(clinic nurse) how I'd lost weight, tell them she just decided that she'd had enough of being overweight, walking 2-3 miles a day, etc.  I didn't want people to know...they weren't paying for it.  Some people are not supportive whatsoever!!!  They don't have your best interests at heart.  They're like the food police.  There's a lady at my church who's postop (Dec 2005); her pre-op weight was 440 and she's currently 300.  Well, she started losing weight, but whenever we have lunch/dinner at church, she's piggin' out and everyone's talking and whispering about her.  Also, living in a small town, her vehicle is seen at restaurants...needless to say, people are still talking and watching her.  I didn't want people to waych my every move.  In addition, if I didn't do as well as someone else, I didn't want to be compared or considered a failure.  Ya'll know they'll say, "she went through all that and didn't lose hardly any weight or she's picking that weight back up."  Don't fool yourself, people treat us differently because we're obese.  Right now, I'm 230 (down from 376) and people comment how good I look; on the other hand, the lady at church, no one ever speaks an encouraging word to her.  As far as the integrity of police officers, well, we're all human and mess up.  No, I'm not condoning her taking the money under false pretnses; but firing in my opinion is a bit extreme.  I know officers who stop ladies for bogus reasons just to get phone numbers, have affairs, use excessive force, plant evidence, concoct stories, etc.  That's my opinion...and I'm sticking to it!!! T

She lied. And now she's paying the consequences for it. I understand why she lied, but I also think you (proverbial you) have to take responsibility for your actions and pay the consequences and not cry about it or expect sympathy because you got caught lying.

As for not telling people, I didn't tell hardly anyone. I just didn't have the energy to weather the unsupportive comments and stuff like "didn't Carnie Wilson have that and she gained all her weight back" or "my friend of a friend had that and she died" or "why don't you just eat less and exercise more". My emotions regarding the whole situation were already so raw, I just didn't have it in me to be the WLS educator, cheerleader and poster child for everyone I know.

I have started to tell people now, and have gotten the above comments as well as some supportive ones. But I feel like I'm in a much better place to be able to handle it.

I had a very interesting incounter with a child about WLS.  A girl age 15 which I have known since she was 3 years old and who was friends with my daughter up until this year, said to me "my mom said you had to have surgery to lose weight. " And this girl was very disrespectful to me, she said I was a fat *ss before my surgery but "no I had to have surgery to lose weight "and that is when she said that her mom said I had to have the WLS to lose.  I'm amazed that a mother would say something like that to her child and then I'm amazed that a child would speak to an adult in that way but I guess it should not surprise me these days.  Maybe Mom is jealous because I'm now better looking than she could ever hope to be...

What a shame. She really should have sucked it up and told them the real reason. I'm sorry, but I am NOT ashamed of my surgery. I get bad reactions from people because I had it when I was 20, but I did it for me. NOT THEM. My fiance works in corrections and I know that this crap would not fly there. She would be gone. My policy has always been honesty. Honesty is the key. Oregon doesn't mess around either. Let me tell ya. Where I live...you don't get by with anything. Oregon likes to take care of things quickly to avoid any issues. Again...what a shame.

A lie is a lie no matter what size the liar is. A lady in My state Massachusetts told people she had cancer and they raised all sorts of money for her and she wasn't sick with anything. She was just a skinny liar. Guess what she went to jail. This police  officer is lucky she only got fired and is not behind bars.  Maybe she should have bit the bullett and taken the time off without pay and maybe been more carefull with her sick time. I know about sick time Im the gastric bypass complication queen.  Too bad she ruined her life over a stupid lie like this, who would hire her now.

As someone in law enforcement, I hate to see a fellow officer lose their job.  But what I hate more is ANYONE who brings dishonor or shame to our field.  As a society, we choose to focus on the negative, we always do.  And unfortunately, there are officers who do negative things.  The problem I have with this is that one lie; one bad choice; brings shame to all of us.  It is not just the reputation of the officer involved that is tarnished, it is the job itself.  Comments made in this thread alone prove that out.  Christina W. states that it is a well know fact that officers by nature are dishonest.  We lie in interrogations, we lie in investigations, and we lie on the stand.  T states, "I know officers who stop ladies for bogus reasons just to get phone numbers, have affairs, use excessive force, plant evidence, concoct stories, etc."  As someone who has served my community for over 15 years, how am I supposed to react to that?  Do I have co-workers that lie, sure.  Do I have co-workers that may overstep the lines of their authority, sure.  Can anyone tell me that they don't have some co-workers who have the exact same problem?  When you hire a police officer, you are hiring a human being.  And since there has been only one to walk this Earth without fault, there is always the potential for bad hires.    If you say to me that the majority of my co-workers are dishonest liars, and that excuses this officer’s dishonesty then at a minimum I would say that you are uniformed and your logic is flawed.  Are there bad cops, yes.  Are there also bad pizza delivery guys, doctors, and garbage men?  Yes.

As to her lying, I have a big problem with this.  There was no reason to lie.  Everyone who has seen a doctor in the last ten years knows about Hippa.  We know that we do not have to disclose specific information about health issues to employees, employers or anyone else.  She could have simply said "I need an emergency medical procedure."  No one made her give a reason.  No one asked her for specifics.  She volunteered this info.  She made the call to get the money.  They asked what it was for.  She told a lie.  The "evil police department" didn't make her tell them anything.  She made a conscious decision to lie.  And her reason was that she didn't want to be "ribbed" for this surgery.  So it was a choice that her honesty and reputation were less important than possible teasing.  This to me speaks to integrity.  Are you willing to suffer some teasing and ridicule to preserve your sense of self? If your not, that you do not belong behind a badge.

My last thought is simply this.  How does she expect to succeed at this surgery if she will not even be honest with her children as to what is happening?  How can you expect to succeed at WLS if it is based on a lie and you try to live a lie covering it up?  She didn't just keep this from co-workers; she kept it from friends, family and children.  Doesn't it strike anyone here that there are obviously some other issues going on?  And as a matter of disclosure, I work for a department at least the size of Portland's.  And yes my co-workers are aware of my pending surgery.  And yes, I have been the subject of jokes and backtalk.  And to that I say, "So darn what?"