A cash incentive to take early retirement is common. But the money usually comes from the employer; not a fellow worker jockeying for your position.
The practice of paying a co-worker to retire so that you can move up in rank is apparently wide spread in the Tulsa Police Department. Police spokesman Leland Ashley says it does not violate city policy.
It works like this:
An officer wanting to move up in rank within the Tulsa Police Department takes a test. He-or-she is then placed on a one year waiting list based on their test score. When a position opens, it is theirs. However, after one year, the test is re-administered and candidates are re-positioned based on the new test scores.
The Frontier on line news site reports rank-and-file officers are paying their superiors to retire so that they can move up without having to retake the test.
The Frontier says Sheriff’s candidate Vic Regalado, a Tulsa Police Sergeant, has admitted he did this to advance in 2013.