# Suspension... with pay?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspension-with-pay/170713>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 23, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspension-with-pay/170713 "2003-04-23T23:23:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspension-with-pay/170713/1 "2003-04-23T23:23:38Z")

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I read [an article](http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=35460&section=LOCAL&subsection=CRIME_COURTS&year=2003&month=4&day=19) about how a police officer was suspended with pay for his actions.  
How in the world can this be considered punishment? They’re paying someone to stay home?

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspension-with-pay/170713/2 "2003-04-23T23:35:51Z")

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They’re usually suspended with pay until a formal investigation is completed. Until then, the officer is innocent until proven guilty. They can keep them off the streets to improve confidence in the police, but still have to pay them.

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**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspension-with-pay/170713/3 "2003-04-24T00:34:14Z")

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I’ve had colleagues who’ve been through this. They report that it ain’t no holiday. Knowing that at the end of their one or two week suspension, they’d be hauled up before The Board (da-dum!) of five or so senior managers who may decide anything from transfer to a facility far from home right up to dismissal pretty much had them spending their paid suspension time pacing up and down at home, worried sick.

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**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspension-with-pay/170713/4 "2003-04-24T02:30:23Z")

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My coffee cup says “I’d like a job where I could be suspended with pay.”

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**Author:** ![Badge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Badge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badge)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspension-with-pay/170713/5 "2003-04-24T04:33:08Z")

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Suspension with pay isn’t intended as a punishment. It is to keep the officer off-duty while an investigation is completed, and possibly until he or she is cleared medically or psychologically to return to duty.

If the completed investigation shows that the officer did something seriously wrong or in violation of policy, _then_ some sort of disciplinary action is taken (such as suspension _without_ pay).

I would like to add that when an officer shoots someone, almost all police departments put him or her on administrative leave (the same as suspension without pay) regardless of the circumstances. No matter how obvious it is that this was a “clean shoot” (i.e. necessary, legal and within department policy), they will still take the officer off the street until a full investigation is completed.