Indiana State Police (ISP) arrested two Seymour Police Department officers Wednesday for alleged official misconduct, ghost employment and theft.
Former Chief William “Bill” Abbott and current Captain Carl Lamb were arrested following what ISP calls a “lengthy investigation.”
The investigation started in October of 2019 when allegations were made against Abbott and Lamb about ghost employment.
The Indiana Office of Inspector General’s ghost employment rule in the ethics code simply states, “Don’t work on anything outside your official job duties.”
The official rule is as follows:
“A state officer, employee or special state appointee shall not engage in, or direct others to engage in, work other than the performance of official duties during working hours, except as permitted by general written agency, departmental or institutional policy or regulation.”
After four months of investigating, ISP says it was determined by detectives that Abbott was employed by a medical center to schedule off-duty officers to provide security.
ISP alleges Abbott was doing this job while also working in an official capacity for the Seymour Police Department.
Lamb is accused of working for a security firm which had a contract to provide off-duty police officers for work in a construction zone. State police say he was paid to do this job while he was also being paid by the Seymour Police Department. Lamb also allegedly was part-owner in a company that provides training to area schools, churches and businesses. ISP says Lamb worked for the company while on duty in his official capacity.
Abbott and Lamb face felony charges of official misconduct, ghost employment and theft. Both of them are on administrative leave from the police department.