In addition, the department has started billing officers for liability insurance related to their off-duty work. Again, Anemone is crying foul. The concept is that cops are always on the job, even when they're moonlighting. And one night the chain-smoking, belligerent bitty in lane six cusses you for the last time. That's where the TPOA proposal comes in.
Anemone wants the department to do away with the fee.
He says off-duty insurance doesn't cost the city extra money, since the cops are always covered anyhow. According to TPD guidelines, total costs for that insurance are about 4.8 percent of the hourly rate charged outside employers. That breaks down to about 80 cents per hour subtracted from officers' off-duty earnings. The union argues that outside employers shouldn't have to bear those burdens. But Anemone has the existing TPOA contract on his side.