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City Council should consider petition on police chief
To the editor:
First, I'd like to take a few minutes to say thank you to Councilman (R.L.) Jones for working overtime on behalf of the citizens of Blytheville, and also for making the motion at the Police and Fire Committee to send the petitions to the full council for review. You are truly a great "public servant" for the city of Blytheville.
On Aug. 12, 2013, the Blytheville Police and Fire Committee once against expressed a lack of respect and concern to the citizens of Blytheville, by not allowing the two petitions signed by citizens of Blytheville for review: (1) Vote of No Confidence in the Police Chief; and (2) the creation of a Citizen Review Board. At this meeting, Councilman Jones made the motion to send petitions to full council for review, but for reasons unknown, all councilmembers (absent John Musgraves) that attended didn't think the petitions were important or worthy for review. Therefore, Missy Langston, Kevin Snow, Tommy Abbott and Stan Parks refused to second the motion.
My purpose for speaking to the full council, to ask that the mayor and councilmembers conduct an evaluation of the job performance of Ross Thompson, chief of police for Blytheville Police Department (BPD). Your office has failed to inform the citizens of any internal investigation of the chief. If the chief has been disciplined, your office has a legal duty under FOIA to share this information with the public, or will the citizens need to submit an FOI to your office?
Mr. Mayor, need I inform you that the FOIA, Freedom of Information Act purpose is to protect "Rights of the Public"? Yes, there are safeguard measures in place to protect personal rights, which the courts have applied what's called the "balancing test" that weighs the public's interest in accessing records against the individual's interest in keeping the records private. In the case of the police chief, who is the highest ranking officer in BPD, I believe a compelling public interest exists and must require your office to act. According to Arkansas state law A.C.A 14-43-504(b)(1) Powers and duties of mayor generally, "Supervise the conduct of all the officers of the city, examine the grounds of all reasonable complaints made against them, and cause all their violations of duty or other neglect to be properly punished or reported to the proper tribunal for correction." There also may be concerns of "nonfeasance" which simply means, "The substantial failure of an officer to perform a duty, or the neglect or refusal, without sufficient excuse, to do that which it is an officer's legal duty to do." Therefore, you have the power to take action, if you choose to do so.
Therefore, if and when you decide to evaluate the chief's job performance, please notice:
1. Citizens' Complaints, which 99.9 percent were ruled unsubstantiated by Chief Thompson alone and at a community meeting at St. Paul Church organized by your office, the chief is on record admitting to me that he made those decisions alone and there is no board in place to review complaints.
2. Disparity/Differential treatment in discipline officers for policy violations, as it relates to race. Example: Officer Rodney Richardson (African-American), who was terminated for attending church by the chief, but assessed only a suspension for Jason Eddying (white), who was arrested in Jonesboro on criminal charges, which resulted in a guilty plea. Another incident in reference to Officer Richardson was years ago he was placed on administrative leave, not suspended. Chief Thompson ordered him to turn over all his equipment, pending an investigation, which Officer Richardson was cleared and allowed to return to work. Officer Richardson was not given the privilege of keeping his equipment like the two present officers that are on administrative leave for the shooting and killing of Terrence Dawson.
3. Chief Thompson's "go-alone approach" in calling back to duty the two police officers that were placed on administrative leave. He was not authorized to take this action without the approval of mayor, City Council, county/district prosecutors, which is definitely grounds for termination. (Note: No information shared with public of any disciplinary actions, as a result of an internal investigation of Chief Thompson actions. What's the secret Mr. Mayor?)
4. Neglect/failure to create/adopt a policy for officers placed on administrative leave. I submitted an FOI request to Chief Thompson on June 11, 2013, in which he responded on June 13, 2013, by U.S postal mail that "The Blytheville Police Department does not have a policy specifically for officers placed on administrative leave." Maybe this explains why the chief "make rules as you go."
How the four councilmembers in good conscience believe that the chief's continual behavior of misconduct and unprofessionalism does not warrant a review, is just downright ridiculous, uncaring and out of touch with the community they supposedly serve. These four councilmembers just ignored the "cry for help" of those who have been wronged. Do these four councilmembers even care? If not, then you all should consider resigning as a public servant or get your act together, because come election day, we will happily pay you your just reward at the voting booth.
Mr. Mayor, the citizens are asking their mayor, who is the chief executive officer of the city, to exercise your "executive privilege" to order that a special committee be formed to review and investigate citizen's complaints. Preferably one that will include citizens of Blytheville.
In closing, Mr. Mayor you indicated in your email to me dated Aug. 9, not allowing me to be added to the August Council meeting agenda, because my request is consider being "repetitive comments." I believe I have followed the rules in addressing the public concerns to the designated committee, and if my concerns are not resolved to my satisfaction, I thought the chairperson of that committee will contact me and direct me to the full council to heard my concerns, if I choose to do so. If this is incorrect, please forgive my ignorance of the rules.