Michael Braun reports for the Fort Myers, Florida News-Press that the Lee County Sheriff’s Office has fired polygraph examiner Jennifer L. Tooker, who won the American Polygraph Association’s 2014 David L. Motsinger Horizon Award, which is presented “in recognition of a new shining star in the profession or association who early in their career demonstrates loyalty, professionalism and dedication to the polygraph profession (less than 10 years).”
In selecting Tooker for the award, the APA passed over U.S. Customs and Border Protection Special Agent Fred C. Ball, Jr., who was nominated for the same award by John R. Schwartz, the head of the CBP polygraph unit. Schwartz based his nomination of Ball on the latter’s role as case agent in Operation Lie Busters, which targeted individuals providing polygraph countermeasure training to the public.
According to the News-Press:
The case against Tooker involved explicit instructions given to her by several officers and a human resources manager ordering her not to inject negative opinions in official documents about specific polygraph techniques.
A internal affairs investigation found Tooker violated those orders in January 2015. Tooker was fired effective April 21.