Related:
TS Council to review chief's contract 4/4/08
TS Closer look at chief's new contract 4/5/08
Police anger at chief surfaces 4/5/08
In a special meeting called to review Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen's contract Friday, the city council largely heard two very different stories -- one from members of the public and another from police department employees.
After a more than hour-long public comment period that saw nearly three dozen people come to the podium, the council voted unanimously -- with Councilwoman Polly Endert absent -- to approve Nielsen's revised contract, with each member individually voicing support for the chief.
TS After complaints about the chief, EPD looks to working together in the future 4/9/08
TS Turning anger into a positive vision 4/13/08
Just to clarify, this one is about Eureka's Chief, not Blue Lake's. For those from outside the area, it can get confusing. They're starting to wonder if there's any sanity up here. The answer is yes, but politics here is a blood sport.
They can't leave that blog unmoderated. They'd get crucified by the heraldoites Kim Starrs & Tads. You've seen the hatred spewwing out,
ReplyDeleteive tried to post numerous times...ANY post that speaks positively of the Chief will not get posted....
ReplyDeletethe above poster put it correctly. the officers who refuse to obey their commander WILL ger crucified. anyone who pays any taxes expects a police force to protect and serve. any officers who can not follow the chain of command should be fired immediately.
So following theo's rules of orders, the Nazi death camp guards shouldn't be held accountable for their actions, because they followed legal orders from their chain of command.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Godwin's law, but be honest here, you can't have it both ways.
mousy,
ReplyDeleteim not talking about accountability, im talking about DUTIES!! if you hire people for your own private business who wont do the job at hand, that is fine...
Police officers are required to follow thier chief...if not they should find a new job...
and if the harrassment charges are true, they should just "follow their chief..."????
ReplyDeletejob assignments have nothing to do with sexual harrassment.....and sleeping with coworkers is not sexual harrassment....
ReplyDeletethere have been no sexual harrassment charges filed. the city manager made that clear..
funny how many posters here support insubordination by civil servants.....
ReplyDeleteif my boss is screwing the cute secretary, and i get jealous, i dont have to follow orders anymore? wow!!! my boss had better watch his/her back...
ReplyDeleteWell, sorting this out will take some time - but when people do speak out, you have to at least listen. Is this just a couple of people who got reassigned who are pissed off? Or is there a real problem? You can't just discount it out of hand.
ReplyDeleteThe people who tried, early on, to get the word out about Gallegos were brushed off summarily. yet everything they said has been proven true. Too late.
I'm not making any judgement on this EPD thing here. Just saying' you have to listen, and consider.
I'm not sure if there is a list of grievances, and a list of solutions, or requests. If one of the grievances is that they don't feel the chief has the back of the men in the field, that's bad. I'm not clear on what it is, even after looking at the blog there.
But the first post says - My goal is to provide a clearing-house for information provided by credible, knowledgeable individuals. Some have hesitated to come forward in even a confidential manner. It is my hope that, once these people realize how many others will decline to be abused and silenced, they will add their voices to the chorus of serious, credible, specific allegations. Such a chorus can not be ignored by even the most sclerotic bureaucracy, and will certainly be heard by those outside the bureaucracy with the authority to enforce labor laws and civil penalties
anon.r.mouse said: "So following theo's rules of orders, the Nazi death camp guards shouldn't be held accountable for their actions, because they followed legal orders from their chain of command."
ReplyDeleteWe are in agreement there. I don't like to see the little guy take a fall because of the big guy's decisions.........I'm sure that most Nazi guards thought that they were patriots of Germany and would do whatever they were told to do.
Rose,
ReplyDeleteI always get suspicious when people with grudges voice complaints. It's funny how when a person feels that they have been wronged by a company or organization or government agency, nothing that those organizations does is right. Im the same way. If I feel that a business treated me unfairly, I have a kneejerk reaction to say bad things about the business. Just human nature...
The officers who are complaining about the new Chief were the same ones complaining about him BEFORE he even got here. I know people with the EPD. The Chief is well liked by 99% of the staff. This is a great case of the "squeeky wheel"....IMHO
Rose,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the "abovethelaw" blog posts give any evidence to charges against the Chief? To me, they lack evidence, but are heavy on anger. People with grudges often do the same thing.......I once worked for the county. Change is not exactly welcomed in local government. People like their jobs to remain unchanged. I can remember cases where the county even offered early retirement to folks instead of asking them to be reassigned...
And thus the difficulty - both of figuring out what is wrong here - and for people such as those in the DA's Office. Their information was brushed off as exactly that - oh, they just don't like change, etc. Yet there were real concerns, they became real problems, the result is we now have lost all but a couple of our experienced prosecutors and we can't get good new ones. The result is lost grants, lost positions, capricious prosecutions, plea deals cut under suspicious circumstances, and a department that will take many years to rebuild.
ReplyDeleteI agree, with regards to the complaints here, I am not seeing a list of grievances and specifics, though perhaps those were delineated at the City Council meeting.
Then you throw in the vicious mood of the public, and the resultant hunker down and hope to get through all this climate that is at EPD, problems with the boss are the last thing they need.
Here's what happens when they actually do post stuff that doesn't toe their line.
ReplyDeleteBlogger mresquan said...
Well I'll try again.The new chief is doing a good job and is finally turning things around and improving the department.I agree that the contract could have been approved a bit later,but I agree with Jeff Leonard as well.The citizens are seeing a vast improvement and many of them showed their support the other night.And like it or not,that's who you work for.
April 7, 2008 6:37 PM
Delete
Blogger Frank Serpico said...
More mail today. This was a short one:
The only people out of control are you fascist pig cops who can't even take orders without whining.
Dear Mensan:
Thank you for interrupting your day to contact us. What with the number of "personal enhancement" creams and lotions on the market, it's surprising you have time. How busy you must be! Anyway, it appears you need a personalized dictionary. Here's one entry:
Fascist. (N) A person who doesn't agree with me, eg. "He says vanilla is better than chocolate; that fascist!" Frequently used by people who, ironically, don't see the fascist tendencies in their own ideas. Also see projection, and Kettle, calling pot black.
April 8, 2008 4:26 PM
Rose said: "at EPD, problems with the boss are the last thing they need."
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Thats why the few bad apples who won't follow orders from the boss need to go. There is a reason that a boss is called the boss. Cuz he's the BOSS!!!!
Also, the EPD has been GAINING employees. There were 6 or 7 openings when Garr came on. I think that they are fully staffed now. I know a guy who quit the force before Garr left, but just recently returned due to the improved working conditions.
Yes, mresquan, I saw what happened there.
ReplyDeleteI can understand moderating comments because of what we've seen on the TS comments and heraldo, but if there is any hope of a rational discussion, they're going to have to be more open, or if it is just a means of venting, they could sign up team members who are allowed to comment - or something. Right now it is just confusing for those who are reading and aren't in the know.
And, Theo, I can't for the life of me figure out what the deal is. I can extrapolate some of the complaints, and I hear little things here and there, the biggest of which was last weekend in the coffee shop when one of the regulars was saying that one of the more public employees there was planning a sexual harassment suit, heard friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing.
On the other hand, most everyone (else) seems happy with the guy. So I don't know.
Rose said: "the biggest of which was last weekend in the coffee shop when one of the regulars was saying that one of the more public employees there was planning a sexual harassment suit, heard friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing."
ReplyDeleteummmm......wasn't the council meeting on Friday? the allegations were made at the city council meeting, were they not? im not surprised that people were talking about it in coffee shops the next day..
the city manager has stated that no case is pending.
I haven't read any allegations that Chief Nielsen has asked them to do anything illegal so the Nuremberg analogy doesn't fit.
ReplyDeleteUMMMMM the "no case is pending" statement has been amended to something along the lines of "it's a personnel issue, I cant comment on it..."
ReplyDeleteEh, Theo, whatever day it was that the article came out, it was either that day or before. My reaction was kind of a "You've got to be kidding me!" kind of thing, and then I read the article.
ReplyDeleteJust based on every cop show and movie you've ever seen from Lethal Weapon to Hill St. Blues, the brass is always at arms length from the rank and file, and always has to play the game and schmooze the politicians. Only difference is people love Mel Gibson's character and get upset when one of their own cops has to pull a gun, and then that whole dance starts, the angry mob, the embattled chief, the adamant politicians, the "you need counseling" all of that. Just based on that, not real, but borne somewhat on the realities that exist, we are not unique.
I heard the real problem is he hired up to full staff and it cut the overtime.
ReplyDeleteTheo is very very wrong on his %'s.
ReplyDeleteBut then Theo is frequently wrong.
9:41,
ReplyDeleteplease enlighten me on the percentages that I am very very very wrong on........I am interested in hearing the real #
Theo we just can't keep "enlightening" you day after day when you don't undrstand a post,a responce to your post or what you say in your own post. It just to damn boring.
ReplyDeletemy percentages stand uncorrected........
ReplyDeleteTheo your percentages are up your backside. But your thoughts and opinions are usually off the wall in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteYou (Theo) have no insight to the Eureka Police Department at all. Your "99%" comment confirms that.
Slightly off topic but can you name one public or private organization where the head person is "well liked by 99% of the staff"? And if you respond try and be realistic or objective. Is that possible Theo?
I think that a majority of the citizens of Eureka actually appreciate the job that the EPD does. I also think that many of the comments against the EPD come from people that do not live in Eureka, and yes I know that they could shop or work in Eureka.
In the past couple of weeks I've heard comments from a couple people (citizens) with no association to the EPD. One only real complaint (if you can call it that) of the EPD was that EPD officers don't smile much and are not very friendly. Hmm, if you worked under current conditions at EPD would you be walking about with a smile on your face? I think not. And by conditions I mean the internal problems and the problems (druggies, homeless, thieves, and such) that are so common in Eureka. And not to forget a DA that is looking for his revenge for supporting Worth Dikeman in the last DA election.
I would encourage members of the EPD to seek employment elsewhere (outside Humboldt County) as soon as possible. Why put yourself, your family, your career at risk for a community that really doesn't support you or a city manager and city council that just don't give a shit about you. There are several agencies that are seeking qualified police officers all over California and beyond. As I understand it more than half of the EPD patrol force is on probation and can be fired at will or for no reason. These probationers have no choice but to stick it out. This is probably true about older officers close to retirement. But the others can leave for a better job, a better quality of life. Let Mr Tyson and Mr Glass explain to the voters why there is a mass exedous of police department personnel.
It would be better to leave on your feet than to stay on your knees.
mass exedous? name some officers that have left in the last year....in reality, the force has filled its vacant postions that it had when the new cheif took over.
ReplyDeletei would also like to hear more about the "horrible" working conditions that were mentioned....this ought to be good...lol..
but in the end, does it really matter? you stated that you want all of the EPD officers to LEAVE TOWN!!!!!
No Teho that is not what I said.
ReplyDeleteI do encourage EPD Officers to seek employment with better working conditions; better pay, benefits, community support, a more healthy working and living environment.
Did I say "horrible" working conditions? No, you made that up Teho.
As for a "mass exodus", that is yet to come. And by "mass" I would say 15 to 20 % of the current personnel. This would include people leaving for new jobs (to include dispatchers and office staff), early retirements, and maybe even terminations from probation. Of course this is just a WAG. None of us really know. But all this turmoil and conflict will extract a toll on the cops, the city (of Eureka) and the community in general.
I will not claim to know all or even most of the EPD officers. But I do know a few, past and present as many citizens do having lived in Eureka more than 30 years. If you know any EPD Officrs in a personal way ask them about the working conditions now and say five years ago. If you know any of the officers that left to go to other departments within the past five years ask them how they like their new department, how they are treated by management, about their benefits, how the community treats them? Educate yourself if you want to speak on this issue.
Within the last year I understand there were four officers that left the EPD; Sgt Mike Johnson, Officer Rocky Harpham, Officer Mechals, and Officer Rob Mengal. Each having an average of 7 to 8 years with the EPD.
And for you Teho. How long have you lived in Eureka? Do you actually live in Eureka? For some reason I don't think so.
anon said:
ReplyDelete"Did I say "horrible" working conditions? No, you made that up Teho.
As for a "mass exodus", that is yet to come."
So, NO mass exodus and NO horrible working conditions....you just refuted your only two pieces of evidence regarding your hatred of the new chief...smooth move...
i could have moved to Eureka yesterday and i still dont appreciate being threatened losing our police force because you hate the new chief....grow up and accept that the overtime is now being watched.....
Nice comeback!!
ReplyDeleteSee theo,a clear to the point statement. Try to learn. Please.
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDelete