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PA Fires 3 After Parolee Who Failed Drug Test Kills Police Officer

December 2, 2012 09:05:03 am

A Pennsylvania parole officer and two of his bosses were fired or their botched supervision of Rafael Jones, a career criminal who allegedly murdered a veteran Philadelphia cop, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Authorities have said that Jones, 23, and an accomplice, stalked and gunned down Officer Moses Walker Jr. during a botched robbery attempt.

The question of why Jones - who failed a drug test about a week before Walker's slaying - was still on the street soon took center stage. An internal investigation led to the firings of Jones' parole officer, Juan Rodriguez, and his supervisors, Rosa Hernandez and Michelle Rivera. Walker's family has filed a lawsuit against the parole board, claiming that Rivera and Hernandez had denied a request from Rodriguez to have Jones arrested after he flunked the drug test. Parole Board chairman Michael Potteiger said the board was considering replacing the agency's electronic-monitoring system, which requires the use of a landline phone, with GPS technology. Jones was supposed to be under electronic monitoring, but there was no phone in his house.

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