Acting Police Chief Put On Leave After Speaking Out Against Corruption

I just watched the video of the acting Bloomfield Police Chief laying into the Mayor and the city council. He was applauded twice by the citizens, and I was impressed with his candor and willingness to go up against what sounds like some pretty serious issues. A member of the council was actually calling police officers on their cell phones to request certain actions be taken. The Chief was told that in order to secure his position he had to allow two Hispanic Officers (though they didn't meet requirements) to test for Sergeant. He was also asked to fix parking tickets. Here's the video:



They are alledging he was placed on leave after commenting his stress levels were so high he had lost ten pounds in a month and that his children wondered why "Their Daddy is angry every night". Please. The mayor was called out and embarrassed, and this seems like nothing but retaliation.

Behre claimed that the councilman asked him to promote a Hispanic officer to detective and said, "This will solidify your position as chief and make all your problems go away."

It's not just the cops, it's the whole system. I suppose the Chief may be making it all up, but I highly doubt it as it's going to have very negative consequences on his career.

So he addresses an issue, airs his grievances and gets put on leave. I'm not sure exactly how he would have gone over their heads, but he should have. Not sure that would make a difference though. The higher ups would most likely protect their underlings in exchange for political favors down the line. The power grabbing is insane to me.

This is the kind of thing that needs way more attention. People should feel free to expose corruption. They should be backed by the citizenry. I believe the more transparent and talked about these types of issues become, the less corruption and nastiness we'll see. Not everyone has the testicular fortitude to stand up and risk their well being so I really applaud this guy. Easier said than done. Pass it along perhaps.


Link 1

his mistake was trying to report his outrage to those who were requesting his corruption. he needed an external body or agency to report it to.


or like.. just deputise the entire town as a "posse" and go round up the mayor and his aids...
spelling intended

reply to post by okamitengu

his mistake was trying to report his outrage to those who were requesting his corruption. he needed an external body or agency to report it to.

Agreed, though I am glad the citizens were informed. Thought a bit more about it after posting and am wondering if he had in fact gone over their heads if the issue would have had a gag order until it's resolution. I really do think there needs to be a group of qualified people (not your average person, though include some) to scrutinize things involving Law Enforcement that is not under the purview or influence of the majority of political douchebags. A group like this should also have some outlet to challenge higher ups without fear of reprisal.

reply to post by Domo1


Run for Mayor and quit crying.

LOSTinAMERICA
reply to post by Domo1

 

Run for Mayor and quit crying.

I have no desire to be Mayor. Just a desire for Mayors and City Council members to not be corrupt.

I will not quit crying until my wine tastes like the Ocean.

Things only change when people stand up to corruption and bad people.

You know, a lot of us complain about cops not weeding out the bad apples among their own and here's a cop that's trying to do just that. Now I see why none of them want to speak out against the corruption. They'll be punished for it. We all need to stand in solidarity with the brave few who are willing to expose corruption wherever they see it and however high up the corruption goes. Maybe more whistle-blowers would come forward if they weren't maligned and censured. Let the corrupt ones worry about being maligned and censured instead.
The system will never change (at least not for the better) if we let "someone else" take all the risks on our behalf.

This is the kind of thing that needs way more attention. People should feel free to expose corruption. They should be backed by the citizenry. I believe the more transparent and talked about these types of issues become, the less corruption and nastiness we'll see. Not everyone has the testicular fortitude to stand up and risk their well being so I really applaud this guy. Easier said than done. Pass it along perhaps.

reply to post by Domo1


I agree not too many people would do what this acting police chief did. People have families and bills to pay, the last thing they want to do is to lose their job by exposing corruption at the upper levels of management. Nothing protects the worker from doing so. We've already seen what happened to whistle blower Snowden. Our system is set up in a manner that people have no recourse but to put up or shut up.

Unfortunately this happens everywhere, not just in government but in the private sector as well. Who hasn't witnessed or became aware of political promotions, political blackmail, or jobs being threatened if something isn't done according to political pressure and expectations. I've seen it where I work, and we have a union! The response I get from our union is you have to pick your battles. In other words, don't make waves in areas that are not as important or doesn't effect the entire member base.

The media should be putting pressure on this city council and the people who are involved in the ongoing political blackmail. They and the citizens of Bloomfield should put pressure on those involved to be removed from office. They should also be made an example of and charged accordingly. This happens way too often, and causes people in power to think they can use their job to influence hiring practices, and to believe they are above the law.

reply to post by Domo1


yeah...well, they did the right thing.

We can't have any good cops showing their faces around....messing things up. There are innocent citizens to bash doors in on and little mentally ill kids to taze.

We don't have time for these little things called "honor" and "ethics" and "morals" and "standards"....

reply to post by Domo1


Are you the Police Chief?

reply to post by LOSTinAMERICA


Actually, that would be a good idea for this chief to do now. All of the people that witnessed what happened, telling their family and friends about it.

He could run on the platform of getting rid of the corruption, and would probably win.