Text: Mayor's letter on police promotions The promotion of these police officers and the resulting controversy has provided us all an opportunity to see how flawed the City's long-standing system is for officer promotion.The buck stops there.
Today I will start implementing several reforms to address this situation in the future. I am announcing a new policy that will set a standard of zero tolerance for domestic abuse.
Zero tolerance is for those who don't want to think.
Those who can't think again are not well suited for public office.
This is wrong on many levels.
For starters, the reform and future fix resides within the present, mandatory domestic violence. Great double-speak. A supplement to the mandatory training goes an extra inch, perhaps. Relief is sure to come from all concerned now.
Next, they'll conduct actual reviews of candidates. Before they must have just drawn straws. Could not have pulled names from a hat as then there would have been a 'written record.'No written recommendation by the review panel is submitted to the Chief now. That's why they must draw straws -- or else flip coins. The "rock, paper, scissors" options would have counted as documentation to them I imagine.
A list of "disqualifiers" is going to be made. Even Santa Claus checks his list twice to find out the naughty and nice. Our new reforms are going to bring us in line with North Pole like scrutiny. These disqualifiers COULD eliminate a candidate from consideration for promotion, or they could NOT. Sounds less like a disqualifier and more like a finger wagging.
Even eight-year-old swimmers in a competitive team understand what a disqualification means. When police could look the other way, then it is fair to say we've got a resounding enforcement issue.
Enforcement is always a top concern, along with parking, at community meetings these days. Enforcement could be a problem because what could occur and what should result is never clear. Crooked ways dominate.
An internal panel of senior supervisors are going to be the one's to examine themselves. This is peer review. This is just what we don't need from the Police. This would sustain bad behaviors. This is why we have a citizens police review board -- because the police are often at odds with reality when it comes to the management of each other in police affairs. The police gang have a code. The police networks are complicated, deep and standard for the job at hand.
Again, the mayor is passing the buck by putting more weight onto a panel of senior supervisors. The mayor is the city's most senior -- err -- top supervisor. The guy or gal at the top needs to be 'in charge.'
These are LUKE's works, not the reporter's transcriptions of things that may or may not have been said. Luke's letter has serious holes in each paragraph. The logic and outcomes are worthy for the trash.
What procedure is going to more closely track all Police Officer incidents?
The whole holistic approach sorta falls flat with mandates, when necessary.
The shift of burden onto the officers to avail themselves to this and that is but another way to say that the mayor is passing the buck to them. This is Luke's problem now. Luke didn't do the oversight when it was needed. The domestic violence is bad but the cluelessness from the mayor is worse.
Once again, Luke gets the city into a legal problem. Prudence is not on Luke's side.
Look, Luke looked at the rules of the city! Did he listen to the 'acting city solicitor?'
So, again, we have some enforcement here -- and some lack of enforcement there. Works for them, but not for others. This is ignored while that is followed.
If the city rules are obsolete, why didn't Luke change them when he was President of City Council? Why didn't the obsolete rules get fixed in the first weeks of the mayor's new administration. Why are we only here this as an excuse now -- when there is little else to put the blame other than on himself.
It is time that all zero tolerance policies be revoked.
It is time that all leaders (especially the mayor) take deliberate steps to manage, promote and demote people with integrity -- without needing to make 'hard decisions.' This is another 'no win' opportunity. We've got too many no-win choices because there is a lack of wisdom on Grant Street.
It is time that the city embrace pro-active leadership that goes beyond the same, stale Dem. Party Machine.