Another Psych license Suspended for Misconduct

As reported in Vermont

A former Corrections Department psychologist's license has been suspended for six months over conduct within the state prison where he worked.

The state Board of Psychological Examiners ordered the suspension for Peter Otten's license in May. It was posted on the Secretary of State's Office Web site this month.

Otten's work at the Corrections Department ended when his job was transferred to the Springfield prison and he did not take the transfer, but he continues to work for the state as a public health specialist at the Health Department, according to the Human Resources Department. That job does not require a psychology license.

Otten, a psychologist at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in 2002-03, signed a consent order that accuses him of several incidents of misconduct with inmates and fellow staff. Among them:

• Commenting to a prison guard about an inmate, "He's going to die anyway, what we need to do is cover our ass."
  
• Telling a prison guard that an inmate was faking symptoms that were later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
  
• Threatening disruptive inmates that they'd be transferred to another unit or to Virginia.
  
• Having "difficult" relationships with 12 female employees and contractors at the prison.

Otten agreed to take an ethics course and sexual harassment training if he seeks to have his license reinstated. If his license is reinstated, he would not be allowed to work in a prison for two years

There was also this newspaper editorial comment:

Why do taxpayers pay this man's salary?

Just when you pray the world is becoming a tiny bit more civil and sane comes this disclosure about one of our finer psychologists serving the interests of taxpayers in Vermont's state's prisons.

Among a number of offenses, the license of psychologist Peter Otten was suspended for "difficult" relationships with 12 female employees and contractors. Otten no longer works for the Corrections Department, but he continues to be employed by the state as a public health specialist at the Health Department. He has agreed to take an ethics course and sexual harassment training.

That's not even the half of it.

There was this choice comment to a prison guard concerning an inmate that makes you know your prayer about civility is nothing but a prayer: "He's going to die anyway, what we need to do is cover our ass."

Cover our ass?

We don't exactly know the context of that statement, and we don't need to, because under any circumstance it does make you think and wonder:

Who makes the decisions to hire a person like this?

Why are we as taxpayers paying the salary?

And why in the world would we continue to allow this person to act on our behalf?

Perhaps the standards are a little bit different in our prisons and on the state Board of Psychological Examiners.

You have to scratch your head.

The original court document regarding Otten can be seen here (PDF)

Earlier this year, Vermont had suspended the license of Doctor Monica Deschamps for sexual misconduct (PDF)