According to Burrell Ellis, officially O'Brien is the acting chief, but for all intents William O’Brien has the job.
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Monday, January 18, 2010
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33 comments:
I hope that a politician keeps his word but I won't hold my breath on it Chief O'Brian has my vote
So the position of Police Chief in DeKalb County requires a degree. O’Brien does not have one but you make him the acting chief for a year and a half while he works on his degree. Once he gets his degree you will make him the permanent chief? No interviews or even consideration for any other person? I am positive that there are supervisors in this department who already have their degree. Either you have the requirements for the job or you do not.
I don’t know that this arrangement is illegal but it sure seems to be underhanded. I completely support CEO Ellis and I like O’Brien but this whole thing just seems wrong. I predict that this will get ugly.
If you don’t know Jack Doo Doo, you better ask somebody! Bolton had a degree! We should have just kept him I guess, because he did wonders for the department with his degree. NOT!
Okay, I have never been a blogger but some of you have angered me lately. I have been an employee at this police department for a couple of years now and I think with the new administration we are the best we have been in a long time. I have seen a lot of positive things around my precinct and improvement over the last year. Morale is up, we have spot lights on our cars now, we have someone in the precinct that can talk to the Chief and get our ideas to him through the Chiefs meetings, we are authorized to wear ball caps instead of the bus driver hat we used to wear when another Chief was here, we have tasers, we are getting larger caliber firearms, Chief O’Brien is selling the magic buses, he is starting a reserve officer program, and just the other day he was before the commissioners fighting for what we need. People, cars, vests, and training.
I do not know Chief O’Brien personally but it seems he has put together a Command Staff with experience and knowledge of the areas that they oversee. A lot of you complain about certain commanders and praise others. Most posters support the majority of the Chiefs and then say O’Brien is not fit to lead. Who do you think reorganized, restructured, and named the new Commanders? We are not going to be happy with everyone all the time. That is the nature of the job! All of our new commanders have come up through the ranks in OUR department and all of them genuinely care about seeing the department improve. When I go to headquarters now I always see all of the Command Staff vehicles there, which tells me they are working for us and doing what they can to make this a better place to work.
I see some officers continue to complain about various commanders. I challenge any of you to show where any of our new Chiefs have done anything immoral or unethical. We all have different leadership ideas but just because you don’t agree with their ideas does not make them a bad leader. Rather than trying to bring someone down (name calling behind anonymity) on this blog, why don’t we focus our attention and submit positive ways to improve OUR department? Please grow up and become part of the solution and not part of the problem.
Chief O’Brien and all of the Command Staff you have a lot of support out there. Keep working for us and we will work for you.
Oh shut up whinning about O'Brien, he has done more in the last year then anyone in the last 20 years.
Do you think Ol Tebo came here ready to serve, or as I remember he had to get certified before he was appointed.
Now what in the hell did he do other than destroy this place even more than it was.
Yes we have folks already around here with degrees.
Personally the only degree that I have is one in the school of hard knocks.
I didnt graduate with any degree other than common sense. And I have to say I know many of folKs with degrees, who couldnt find their way out of a paper bag.
Yea they can tell you how to save your life, but I can show you.
So who do you prefer someone who is yelling to get out of the line of fire, or someone who will come get you out of the line of fire.
I know who I would choose!
Now leave me be pansy asses, Ethels gunna get a smackdown.
Rock on Chief O'Brien
Why is it that some people think being a good leader requires a degree? Good leadership comes from using plain ole good common sense and taking care of your subordinates; character. I've met my fair share of boneheads around here who have college degrees. Even trained a few. Based on my experience, a degree is just a piece of paper. Bill O'Brien has my vote too.
OK well can we get a clarification on what kind of degree is needed for this job. Im pretty sure O'Brien just started his college less than 2 years ago. O'Brien should do the smart thing and take the early out because im sure he is going to get screwed by Ellis, Miller Time and his band of idiots who already have degrees, god only knows how they got em.
I have a degree. I don't think it should be a requirement for anything. I know lots of people in the department that don't have degrees and are brilliant. I also know lots of people who have degrees and struggle with the idea of walking upright.
We have ball caps and we are getting lights on the side of the cars? Really? Is that what we have come to? If you do not think that O’Brien should be the chief then that means that you want Bolton to come back huh? Good God! The logic of you people! I am surprised that some of you can write your own name. So as long as the current chief is better than Bolton then we should just be happy and keep our mouths shut. Hell, Satan himself would be better than Bolton. What kind of standard is that?
No one said that only people with degrees are good leaders. Clearly that is not the case. But it seems that it is a REQUIREMENT for the job of Police Chief in this county. A very common requirement for a department this size I might add. To hell with all the rules! We should just do what we want to do like Vernon Jones always did.
So Director Miller, who has a law degree, and any of his friends who have degrees are all idiots huh? That is exactly why I read this blog. So that really smart people like you can keep me informed.
How sad that someone who is clearly competent, has support as a leader from officers AND the community, and has a lifetime of experience, is undervalued because of a piece of paper that says he's smart.
I could tell you about all the idiots with degrees I've met in my lifetime. They don't teach common sense in college. You either have it or you don't. No, it's not sad, it's stupid.
I know this is redundant, but I wrote it before reading all the comments. So just give him the damn title for God's sake.
Mr. Anonymous (poster #8),
See, you make my point for me. You asked, what about rules? I do believe that Chief O'Brien follows the rules and ensures that the people under him do as well. If you are suggesting that there is a rule that requires that the Chief of Police for DeKalb County have a degree, please show me that rule. Chief Moody did not have a degree. I believe that the requirement states that the candidate must have a degree OR a combination of education and experience of the rank of Captain or higher in a similar sized department.
I didn't say anything about Director Miller or anyone else in our current command staff that have degrees. Surely some of them may be qualified, but last time I checked Director Miller had a job and he is the Chief's boss. Additionally, other commanders with a degree also have jobs.
I am simply stating that a degree does not make you qualified for this job. I hear you complaining but I don’t hear you offering any realistic suggestions for improvement.
Again, if you don't know Jack Doo Doo, you better ask somebody!
Stay safe!
The CEO should waive the degree requirement for this situation. This IS an emergency situation. Waive it and appoint Obrien Chief. Remember "CLEP" ? Obrien "CLEPED" his degree via his policing experience.Appoint him chief and let him get on with the job of fixing this damn mess of a PD !
O'Brien is going to have his degree in about 6 months. Let him finish and then appoint hime permanently.
Burrell Ellis needs to be a man of his word in 6 months and appoint O'Brien. As long as Ellis keeps his word in 6 months there is no issue. Let's all hope and pray that as with all the responsibility of running the police department and going to school that he will be able to keep his eye on the ball and continue to perform his role as interim chief. Let's hope O'Brien's staff supports him so that the results can continue to come in. Go O'Brien!
If there is no requirement and it just does not matter about the degree, then why is the CEO waiting a year and a half for him to get his degree? Why is he still the acting chief? And no one else has even been given a chance. This seems fair to you? I agree that you do not have to have a degree to be a good leader. But there is a lot more at play here than just that.
To the people who want O’Brien to be the chief the answer is simple. Just waive the rule. Fairness? Allow other people to interview and be considered for the position? To hell with rules and fairness, we just want what we want! If it were Vernon doing the exact same thing there would be much hell raised! But since it someone we want then it is OK. We should be careful that we do not become what we clam to hate.
Everyone needs to remember that Miller was able to sit around on county time and work on his degree. People remember him at East Pct and Special Ops keeping the door closed so he could study while others did his work. It is a shame that O'Brien was not able to sit behind a closed door and work on his degree, but I guess some people had to keep the dept running.
Chief Obrien is so ethical and fair that he allowed his buddy Padrick to remain his aide when Padrick got promoted, but the ones who got promoted shortly ater Padrick had to go back to the road for 6 months. He also allowed his buddy Padrick, who left Internal Affairs on his own free will because of a disagreement he had with the IA Commander (Lt Yarbrough), to get revenge on Yarbrough by immediately removing him from IA once Bolton was out of the picture. Now, how is this any different from Bolton and his tactics?
Same stuff only the names have changed.....why does Ellis get a few pass for the screwing that we are getting
An observation from an old timer is this. The difference is that Padrick is a dedicated trust worthy hard worker and is where he is because of that. He is not a slug who got a position just because he was someones friend as is the case many times around here. Every now and then a good person does get thrown a bone around here. O'Brien has seen his share of idiots put in places because of who they know. Rest assured if O'Brien puts someone in a position it is because he knows there work ethic. That is not to say that there are not some non deserving individuals holding high rank right now but you can bet your butt they were put there at the direction of someone named Miller.
"Chief Obrien is so ethical and fair that he allowed his buddy Padrick to remain his aide when Padrick got promoted..." I concur with this post. Most of you think Obrien is the best thing since slice bread. It is only because this department hasn't had a good chief since...ummm I forgot. Watch out though. Good ol' boy Obrien is not going to be our savior...you'll see some skeletons fall out of the closest and some out there already know ;) Oh yeah and about the degree. I have a degree too and if it's a requirement to be Chief of Police then so be it! It should be required to just be a police officer nowadays...it is at a lot of places now.
The little secret that some people do not want out is that there are a lot of police officers in this department who do not want Bill O’Brien to be the chief. Most of those people do not think he is a bad guy, they just do not think he is ready to run a 1000 man police department. The truth of the matter is that the morale of this department is not nearly as great as some would claim. The morale of about 20 to 30 percent is great because they are directly benefiting from O’Brien being the chief.
There is a very vocal group of officers, including several on this blog, who want to silence ANY notion that anyone but O’Brien should be the chief. They want to tell EVERYBODY in the department what their feeling and what their opinion should be. If you dare disagree they will turn on you like a pack of wolves. They will tell you if you don’t want O’Brien to be the chief then you must want Bolton to come back or you must be an idiot.
Someone told me a few weeks ago that they were afraid to say anything remotely negative about O’Brien around the department because they were afraid they might get shot. Now of course they did not mean that they thought they would get shot literally but they were making a serious point. Yeah, there is that VERY loud group who think they have all the answers. But what about the rest of the officers in this department, do they even matter?
Wasn’t the original purpose of this blog to allow officers to share their opinions, to debate the issues and to learn things that you won’t learn through other sources? Personally, I like O’Brien but I believe there has to be room for smart people to disagree.
I think you missed the point of the post about Padrick. I dont think the poster was knocking Padrick and saying he wasnt deserving. Padrick is a very hard worker and a great guy. I think the point of the post was about O'Brien and his 'so called'fairness and impeccable character. He and Padrick are close friends - Fact! Padrick got promoted to Lt and did not have to go back to the road - Fact! O'Brien has a policy now that says everyone promoted has to go back to the road - Fact! Why was Yarbrough moved out of IA? Everyone in IA says he was doing a great job, including his immediate supervisor at the time, Chief Bush. Why is Sgt Veillon back on the road after getting promoted, when he is on Bombs and SWAT? Acoording to Tucker sergeants he is never there because of SWAT, Bombs, FBI and grant meetings. Obviously Veillon is an asset to the department and should have been left in Special Ops. He serves no purpose in uniform. He has to go back to the road but not the Chief's buddy Padrick. Yep, same old cut throat BS!
What great experience does O'Brien have? He worked in IA and was someone's aide for most of his career. Very little experience as a uniform supervisor. So what makes him any more qualified than any of the other Assistant or Deputy Chiefs? There is no doubt he's a super nice guy, and I personally like him. However, it is very clear that he is not the most qualified person in this department for the position.
Morale is up?? Where are they getting this from? Morale is up for the few ranking people that benefited from the departure of Bolton. For the masses of us nothing has changed. We still have horrible working conditions, no raises, furloughs, etc. We understand the financial times and some things must be done, but no one's marale is up because of it. Crime is up, and we all know there is no way we will match last year's numbers. Violent crime is up, but we still gotta play these stupid games and actually go inside and check each library. I think Mr CEO needs to talk to some sergeants and officers to get a true perspective on morale around here.
We still have Kliesrath and we still have Jagoe. Morale will never be up with those two in power. They have terrible people skills and do not know how to treat people. They will destroy our morale in 6 months!
I'm tired of this blog, it's ruinning my life I get up in the morning and rush to the computer.
I cant take all the bitching, moaning and groaning anylonger.
All of yall suck, please somone anyone! shut it down.
My God! It doesn't matter who is chief, someone won't be happy about it and complain. This is just the reality of ANY work place environment.
For the negative posters, explain (if you are able) how things have gotten worse from Bolton to O'Brien. If you can, then, what is your solution? I'm not reading any solutions from you with constructive thoughts so far.
Would you prefer another stranger who knows nothing about this department or the community we serve to come in and try to run things? What is wrong with promoting from within our officers who have dedicated their lives and careers here? If you have to complain, then present your solution. Let us here your nominations for chief of police.
These complaints about favoritism, I understand. Again, no matter what work environment, someone is always going to dislike someone else for whatever reason(s). But, no matter where a person goes, you will always find that workers who have developed professional relationships will appoint them to their staffs or to work with. Come on people! Use some common sense! It typically is because of one of two reasons, or perhaps both. Those who can appoint those they know because of trust and competency, the buddy system, and/or both. Again, where ever you go, it will always be there one way or another.
So you nay-sayers out there, please tell us all who you would nominate or like to see be appointed as our chief of police if O'Brien is not satisfactory for you. "Who" means names. Don't give us that "national search" crap.
I do not think the Lt. Padrick thing is technically unethical but it just adds to the bad perception. It is part of what is wrong with this department. The truth is that he is just one of a long list of O’Brien’s buddies who have been taken care of. And I do mean a LONG list of people. They are either his buddy or a buddy of his buddy. I am very disappointed in Chief O’Brien as it relates to this issue. I am also a little surprised to tell the truth.
I kind of understand O’Brien wanting Padrick around him because they are friends and he trusts him. In O’Brien’s position you need that trust but I think he could have found someone else.
The other part of this equation is the officers in this department who think they are too good for uniform. The number of arrogant lazy jackasses who think they are too important to be in uniform has increased over the last few years and I can not stand these people. Veillon is too important to be in uniform? Are you serious???!!!! If he had not had his head up Rancifer’s butt the last several years maybe he would know something besides how to destroy a fake grenade.
DeKalb County has some very serious crime problems to be sure. Do we have a bomb problem?
Im at a precicnt and the morale is definately up. Stop whinning about padrick and chief obrien. There have been many people promoted that havent had to go back to the road. Who cares, if you cant handle the road try school crossing guards or code enforcement. Like Lt. manikowski always said "if you dont like it here just quit". So many have and many will.
And as for the ICP. If you get rid of the unit think of how many more officers there will be on the road. They wont have to complain about checking libraries and going to the community meetings with the big free dinners. They can actually catch the criminals. What a concept. And one last thing, what about sergeants handling some calls and tickets. Include it in their evaluations. Its soooooo sad but most are LAZY. Their either at the waffle house or sleeping. Its pathetic. I hope the brass puts them in check. If they write just two tickets each day that will bring a lot more revenue to the county. HINT HINT DIRECTOR MILLER.
Sometimes, it is better to have someone who is good, than waste a lot of time looking for the "perfect candidate" who usually come with a lot of "baggage" after being canned at the last job. At least DKPD is moving forwards rather than backwards. A college degree is not an unusual requirement for the Chiefs position, and I am glad Ellis is giving the Chief a chance to earn the degree be rewarded with the permanent position. Vernon did untold damage to the county purchasing office by reclassifying all the positions as requiring degrees. 3/4's of the staff was canned because they could not qualify and purchasing costs skyrocketed under the new staff. My position now requires "a degree or equivalent experience" and the degree requirement does not match the technical requirements of my job. My position requires technical certification but not a degree. HR keeps sending us unqualified candidates and now we have to hire consultants because our fracken' pay is so low. HR does not accept the "equivalent experience" clause either, eliminating more qualified candidates. I have 25 years experience in my job and would not be hired for the position if I reapplied. Kinda sux mates!
Its all politics when you look at Dekalb Police Department. This is the current four years of leadership. Then the next election either we have the same or all new people inplace to run the department.
We will never become what we were years ago. We just have a new Vernon and Terrell running the show.
This is a sad state of affairs we have now.
I have only a few more years and I will leave this place but not with regrets but with hope that it will have a new direction soon.
I didn't like it here and I quit. I also read this blog on the toilet everyday via my iphone...Its better than the gossip magazines!!
Who gives a shit about a degree. If he leasd this department effeectively now without a degree, why does it matter if he has one or not? I find it kind of ignorant that all they care about is that he goes to some online school shit real fast to get a piece of paper and thats what we consider a candidate for a leader. Hell I have a GED and I think I could probably do a half decent job running this place!
An earlier post said Kliesrath will destroy this place in 6 months. Well, he's at it again. His latest brilliant idea is to have all officers who are on restricted duty for pending disciplinary action, wash police cars at the precinct all day until further notice. First of all numbnuts, if a watch is out on the road there will only be 2-3 cars at the precinct to be washed. Secondly, just because I'm on restricted duty doesnt actually mean I've done anything wrong. So I get punished by washing cars because of some false accusation made by someone? 6 months? I say 3!
To Mr. I have a GED....it shows!!!
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