Thanks for your response.

During the course of my initial training I was tasked with going to the range to shoot my weapon on numerous occasions. On one of these occasions my shift LT, SGT and myself qualified for Federal Certification. Our establishment does not have its own training range so we have to use other departments. On this day we used the Sheriff Office range.

Immediately after the other 2 and I qualified the training LT was qualifying with his weapon for State certification. You do not need to have or maintain State certification for Federal but I knew he needed to qualify for state for a part time job he took on at a city department. After I watched him qualify I asked if I could as well as I needed 4 hours to maintain my state certification. He told me not a problem as long as the people who run the range will run it. They said not a problem either and I qualified with the trainer as my safety.

4 months down the road and 2 weeks after telling the chief of my sexual harassment complaint I was pulled back in the office in reference to this range. The training LT was being investigated for scheduling a range for his own personal agenda. He asked me if I knew I was not supposed to use my weapon for these things because it was misuse of government property. I told him I did not. I don't know how I would know I never signed anything and no one has ever told me. It was not like I signed out my weapon with the intention to qualify for state. We were at the training range already and authorized to use as much ammunition as we want and I just watched my training officer do it. Not only that but my shift supervisor and Sgt were there and did not say anything. I of course apologized and told the Chief if I would have known I would have never done it. It's too easy to go out to the range any other day because I used to work for that department and most departments encourage training and practice.

As a new person it would be a stretch to know these things. I came from a Sheriff Office and we could use and do anything with our weapons. To me it was just more training. I have gone through all the policy and procedure manuals and there is nothing plainly written to say this was wrong. Everything is very vague to the use of government property that it not be for persona or financial gain. I asked several of my peers and they all told me there was no way I could have known unless the trainer told me. At that point I had been with the department for only a month.

All this being said I just don't see how I am attached to a trainer and he steers me into the wrong direction and I get in trouble. I will take responsibility that I broke a rule unknowingly but the punishment doesn’t seem to fit. I was told this institution uses the Table of Penalties for these types of incidents and in the Table it states "unless you unknowingly broke a rule"

Looking for another Lawyer soon and preparing for mediation. As I said I do not want my job back but I want my name clear. This can be detrimental to my career. I have never been terminated from a job and now I have.
Regardless on if my name gets cleared I will still have to take Polygraphs and this will still be something that will pop up.

I just need to be steered into the right direction....

Thanking you