Dangers of Abuse of Position

The Washington Post reports on an unusual event that shows one reason for emphasizing high ethical standards for federal employees: Many civil service workers are in sensitive positions with the potential to injure vulnerable people. In this particular case, a FEMA employee used information from disaster assistance applications for identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton expressed the community's outrage over such "lowdown" conduct in imposing a sentence of 5 years and 4 months:

"What you did, which is really repulsive, is rather than trying to help these people, you hurt them more. When you see someone on the ground, you don't step on them and hurt them more."