• By KIMBERLY VETTER AND SONIA SMITH
• Advocate staff writers
• Published: Nov 20, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Two veteran Baton Rouge police officers facing criminal charges have been in trouble before during their careers with the Police Department.

Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Webb, arrested Monday in the rape of a 16-year-old Livingston Parish girl, has been disciplined twice by the department during his 12 years there, police documents show.

Sgt. Edward Coulter, cited earlier this month for first-offense DWI and driving left of center, has been disciplined 13 times during his 22-year tenure on the force, the documents show.

Coulter, 50, has been suspended five times and has received eight letters of reprimand, according to the documents.

Webb, 36, has been suspended twice, one of which was overturned by the city’s Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service Board, documents show.

Both of Webb’s suspensions occurred in 2000. In the first incident, Webb was accused of giving false testimony during a pretrial hearing, a letter from then-Police Chief Greg Phares says.

Webb arrested the boyfriend of his former girlfriend on a simple robbery charge in May 1999 and was called to testify in the case in August 2000, the letter says.

In his testimony, Webb mentioned finding a crack pipe in the motel room of the accused, the letter says. However, as the crack pipe had not been mentioned in Webb’s written arrest report, the assistant district attorney assigned to the case doubted the truthfulness of Webb’s testimony.

District Attorney Doug Moreau contacted Phares, who held a pre-disciplinary hearing in July 2000, during which Webb admitted to giving false testimony, the letter says.

Phares suspended Webb for 15 days as a result of the department’s investigation. Webb appealed the suspension to the Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service Board, but dropped the appeal before it was heard.

Another pre-disciplinary hearing was held in October 2000, after the department received a complaint that Webb made an obscene gesture at a female driver and mouthed something obscene while driving on Airline Highway, a letter from Phares says.

Webb denied the accusations, but was suspended for 10 days, the letter says. An appeal Webb filed with the Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service Board was successful and the suspension was overturned.

Webb is on paid administrative leave, pending an internal investigation into a rape that allegedly occurred Sunday at his Denham Springs home, police have said.