Fact check: Detective Jeff Payne deserved to be fired, but still tried to play the victim following his indefensible actions.

1. Summary of the results

Detective Jeff Payne was indeed fired on October 11, 2017, after an internal investigation found he violated six separate staff policies during his arrest of nurse Alex Wubbels ^{[1] [1]}. The termination was supported by evidence of misconduct and a previous disciplinary history, including a 2013 sexual harassment incident ^[2]. His 27 years of service were deemed insufficient to outweigh his unprofessional behavior ^[1].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements were missing from the original statement:

• Payne maintains he was following police training and department policies ^{[3] [4]}
• He has filed a lawsuit claiming wrongful termination ^[1]
• He has been unable to find work as a police officer since his termination and faces criminal charges ^[5]
• He describes himself as a "fall guy" and suggests the city fabricated events to blame him ^[6]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

While the statement about Payne's termination being deserved is supported by multiple sources, the situation is more complex:

• The characterization of Payne "playing the victim" might be oversimplified. While he did attempt to justify his actions ^[2], his claims about following department policies and training deserve consideration in a complete analysis ^[3]
• The statement doesn't acknowledge the potential systemic issues at play - if Payne was indeed following orders and department policies as he claims ^[6], this could indicate broader institutional problems beyond one officer's actions
• Multiple stakeholders have interests in this narrative:
• The police department benefits from portraying this as an individual officer's misconduct rather than a systemic issue
• Payne and police unions benefit from portraying him as following protocol
• The city benefits from having a clear individual to blame, as suggested by Payne's "fall guy" claim ^[6]