Capitol jealous of overearning cops

A handful of US Capitol Police officers whose paychecks have been plumped by huge amounts of overtime are bumping into a salary cap that bar...

A handful of US Capitol Police officers whose paychecks have been plumped by huge amounts of overtime are bumping into a salary cap that bars employees of Congress from being paid more than members of Congress.

The limit — $148,500 — is usually an issue only for top Capitol Hill aides or other senior Capitol officials. But several police officers and sergeants — shoe-leather types whose basic pay averages $53,327 and tops out at $70,000 — have been told they might have to forgo extra duty or be furloughed for the rest of the year if they reach the cap.

The problem affects just a few officers but highlights post-Sept. 11 trends for law enforcement. A dire shortage is making trained officers a sought-after commodity. Line officers working at the Capitol this week expressed mixed emotions at the new dynamic.

Outside the Senate chamber, one officer said he had 12 weeks of compensatory time, and he said he would take that leave as soon as he could to spend time with his wife and two toddler sons. Two others noted that colleagues had bought ‘‘a lot of cars, a couple motorcycles,’’ and that one ‘‘just got back from a three-week vacation to Europe — maybe overtime had something to do with it.’’ ‘‘We have the money, we just don’t have the time to do anything with it,’’ said one just-married officer.

In the year since the terrorist attacks, the Capitol Police department’s 1,272 sworn officers have pulled enough additional shifts to add up to work that would have required 262 additional officers on normal shifts, said Police Chief Terrance Gainer. The average officer logged 441 hours of extra time — about three months’ worth — boosting earnings by $16,786 to $70,113.

Meanwhile, the department is rushing to fulfill a Congressionally mandated buildup to 1,981 officers by 2004. Until new officers come on board, the department is unable to keep pace with assigned staff levels. Lengthy training cycles and attrition because of competition from other federal agencies have meant the department hired 209 officers this year but lost 151.

‘‘Well, competition does make the quality better,’’ said Gainer. ‘‘It’s a good time to be a young person — well, you don’t have to be young — to be a qualified person to get into law enforcement.’’ Capitol Police are not alone in searching for new officers.

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As a result, Congress is adding incentives. Legislation is pending to give Capitol Police raises more than twice that of other government workers next year, 9.1 per cent versus 4.1 per cent, and to reimburse college tuition up to $30,000 or $40,000, Gainer said. (LATWP)