Have any of you given any thought to who would make a good candidate to replace current Chief of DeKalb Police Terrell "The Terrible" Bolton?
Regardless of whether you support State Representative Stan Watson or DeKalb County Commissioner Burrell Ellis in their bids for DeKalb CEO, one of these two most assuredly will be our next CEO, and as such, one of them will have the authority to replace the Chief. (Thank God Almighty, free at last!)
It would be great if some of us could identify some potential replacements for the incoming CEO to consider. Do any of you know of any highly-qualified people in other jurisdictions who would be interested in taking charge here? Do any of our current Command Staffers have the wherewithal and the necessary internal support to step into this position? (No, Keisha -- I'm afraid you are not eligible.)
I'd like to see some serious and thoughtful discussion on this issue. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to get a Chief installed that the DKPD rank and file could stand behind?
Someone asked why "Terrible" Terrell was sending Command Staff to Houston PD for training. It is obvious he is sucking up to someone down there in Texas -- positioning himself for his next job after he gets terminated here.
By the way -- Kudos to whoever was the mastermind behind the photo of the magic bus with the "Vote Yes on Dunwoody" bumper stickers. That was funny as hell!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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6 comments:
The next chief should come from the outside, just as the last study suggested and Vernon failed to act on. An outside professional group with a proven track record should be formed to find the best person for the job.
But if you are paying attention, it appears Stan Watson is building a following of DeKalb Officers. If he should be elected, will he reward these people, deservedly or not, with promotions and transfers? He is giving the appearance he will jump right in to the operations of the police department and make changes within the first 100 days. The way he is presenting it appears to be somewhat reckless. Will these changes consist of loyalist, just as with Bolton? Will there be much difference between he, Vernon and T Bo?
Is Burrell Ellis correct when he says he will conduct a study to seek the right person for the job, and get to the root of the problems within the police department before hastily making any decisions?
Either way, Bolton and his Kingdom will be history, but what a damaging history he will leave behind. No matter, for the new chief and administration, it will be a challenge and will take time and thought.
Remember, it has been 552 days since Bolton was named Chief and he has yet to implement is command staff.
But if one had to choice from the current command staff, it would be someone who has an equal balance of uniform command and administration command.
So, if you placed the current command staff including aide’s credentials side by side, the obvious choice would be Brian Harris, His credentials within the police department and the military are impeccable. He is a man of high standards and morals.
At the very least the county should seek someone who is at least in the same ballpark as Brian Harris, not some controversial person with a shady past as Bolton.
There are many officers who are suggesting that the next chief should “come from the outside”. Isn’t that where Terrill Bolton came from? Well that sure has worked out great hasn’t it?!!! But I doubt the next chief is currently a member of the department. I KNOW I do not want anyone who is currently a part of Bolton’s command staff. In my view, that automatically disqualifies them from having ANY role in the next command staff. Perhaps I am wrong and there could be a couple of exceptions?
Brian Harris is a good guy and he is very intelligent. I also believe he has high morals and ethics but I am not sure that someone’s aide is exactly what we should be looking for. While I also think that someone “from the outside” may be a good idea, I would at least like to see someone from the state of Georgia.
If there are officers supporting a candidate for CEO then I say that is great! Do police officers have a right to participate in the political process? I do not care who you are supporting, I support your right to do so. I do think that Stan Watson’s pledge to take action on the police department in 100 days is outstanding and sounds like good common sense. How is this reckless? We need action. Not another damn study!
Is Burrell Ellis really going to study the police department for a year to “find out what the problem is”? We know what the problem is and we have for some time now. We are looking for solutions at this point. If you really believe this is a good idea and we need to study the police department to find out what the problem is, then you sir are an idiot!
Stanley, the point being made about Stan Watson is that you are likely just trading one set of cronies with another? I don't know if a "study" is needed but an audit of the department and where it's personnel are assigned is definately necessary. This is especially true if the next chief is indeed an outsider.
My opinion is that both of the candidates need to publicly state what their intentions are regarding the chief prior to the election. The police department is the largest department in the county government and it's most visible. As a citizen I'd want to know what the CEO is going to do. I think most officers believe that both of the two major candidates already have their chief picked. The Stan Watson camp has the names of Moody, Ector, and others thrown around while Ellis has been seen with Pearson. Call me cynical but it looks like some folks are looking for their old jobs come next January. Is this what we really want? Just posing a question not making a statement.
I wish that our fine department would get the leadership that it's officers deserve. We are in such a mess that no matter who the next chief is they will certainly have a tough job. We need to get back to the real police work and the proper answering of calls. This numbers game that is played week to week is ridiculous. I'd bet that 95% of those above the rank of sergeant couldn't even tell you how to fill out the PATS sheet or how grossly that program is being misused by some to inflate certain numbers. Don't even mention our RMS system which again 95% above the rank of sergeant don't know how to use. Just ask a lieutentant or above to pull a copy of a report, most will run to their sergeants. And this is the process used to compile most of our statistics? Crazy! Reducing crime takes so much more than hundreds of police officers. What we can impact is this, quickly respond to citizens calls of service, document the crime, and then catch the SOB that did it so he can't do it again. This is the very basic function of the police that most concerns citizens. The current regime only worries about the increase in crime, which is occuring all over the country. All studies have shown crime has many parameters and police presence and tactics having little effect or a short term impact. Crime is a social problem not a police problem. The police will ALWAYS be outnumbered by the bad guys. We spend too much time focusing on and publishing numbers to come up with another effective "special". Get off the silly weekly numbers and start focusing on apprehension. Sorry for the rant but I couldn't hold it in any longer :)
At it's core we still have a good police department. There are still good people with command rank, they have just been put into hiding by Chief Bolton and Keisha. Just remember the Majors having to work for Keisha, the Captains in radio, animal control, and CSI. Hopefully they, along with whomever is made chief can turn this department around and we can all be proud to be DeKalb officers once again.
Regardless of who is elected to CEO, they should hire the best available candidate after a nationwide search. Then the CEO should be hands off in the routine operation.
No CEO has any business running a police department on a daily bases. Look how we have turned out. Look how Atlanta Police turned out under Bill Campbell's rule.
Operating a police department is not the same as operating Roads & Drainage or Sanitation.
Hey dedicateddkpd, dont forget the property room. They have three sgts. assigned there.....
The Magic Bus Rocks!
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