Army vet facing court-martial for $37 theft blames mental disorder
BY JOE GOULD • ARMY TIMES • JANUARY 19, 2010
Entire article posted at http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20100119/NEWS01/100119015
A lieutenant colonel said because he suffers from kleptomania he should not be court-martialed for shoplifting last year at Fort Benning, Ga.
Lt. Col. Rodney Page, a 28-year Army veteran, admits to stealing $37 worth of challenge coins at the post exchange, but he blames the Army for mistakenly reducing medication he takes to curb his urge to steal.
“That impulse is so strong that it just overrides your common sense,” said Page, 58, recalling the theft. “I am ethical, even though I have this problem. I’ve never taken anything from anyone I know. You can leave money on the table; I’m never going to touch it.”
Page said he would prefer to submit to administrative discipline and preserve his retirement benefits.
Kleptomania is a rare and embarrassing impulse control disorder characterized by the theft of items regardless of value, with little or no premeditation. There is a sense of guilt or shame associated with the thefts.
“I would never plan anything before showing the impulse to take something,” said Page. “Afterward, I would say, ‘God, that was stupid.’ I would just feel so bad.”
A prior conviction for shoplifting is the “main factor” in Maj. Gen. Mike Ferriter’s decision to court-martial Page, said Army spokeswoman Brenda Donnell. In the 2008 case, Page received 60 days’ confinement, fines and a reprimand.
Page was accused of stealing sandals and flags from a PX at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in July 2008. He fled and was tackled in public by soldiers pursuing him.
Donnell declined to comment on Page’s medical condition, citing privacy laws, but Army medical records supplied by Page’s attorney confirm that the incident led to the diagnosis that Page was a kleptomaniac.
Prior to the incident, Page was a logistician in charge of shipping container management at Camp Arifjan. In a 2008 performance evaluation, his battalion commander credited him with saving the Army nearly $3 million in container fees and recommended his promotion to colonel “immediately.”
Mental health stigma
Page’s attorney, Scot Sikes, said that Page is being penalized for a mental disorder, even as senior Army leaders work to remove the stigma of more common mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I think that my rank is really hurting me because they don’t expect someone of my rank to have this problem,” said Page. “If I can help someone else down the road because of my case – so that the Army looks at things a little different, so that they look at a different punishment.”
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Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.
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