Tiffany Atwood had a pretty sweet assignment at the King County Sheriff’s Office. As a “background detective,” her job was to visit police departments around the country and evaluate prospective officers the sheriff was considering hiring. She was supposed to go on ride-alongs with those officers, review their files, and interview their colleagues.
Instead, an internal investigation by the King County Sheriff’s Office found, she lived it up on the taxpayers’ dime. During trips to Hawaii, Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon, Atwood upgraded her rooms at resorts or her rental cars far beyond what was allowed by King County regulations. On several trips, she took her son with her to hotel pools and beaches and went sightseeing.
During a two-day trip to Maui, she spent $549 per night on a room at the Fairmont Maui, including $116 for an “ocean view upgrade”—more than double the authorized per diem rate of $259 per night. She spent $150 for a rental car upgrade with Hertz, against King County policy.
After at least two years of this kind of activity, and at least $7,500 wasted, people began asking questions.