Hey Colson - maybe a good thing you didn't get that job
- Thread starter Guard Dad
- Start date
It is standard practice to send an officer through a fitness for duty regimen when they return to work for an extended or severe illness. If they have been out for several months, it would even be expected that they return to the range and re-qualify with their weapon. Officers who were in the military reserve were required to do the same when they returned from deployment.
At least this suit is against the previous chief and not the current one. We competed for the job and I got to know the current chief pretty well. He's a good man and I didn't see any resemblance to a person who would discriminate. One of the ideas I pushed to the city manager was to hire recently retired Cobb Officers since most of them were eligible to retire around 50 years of age. These officers are mature, had demonstrated loyalty and the capability of doing the job simply by virtue of them successfully surviving a police career for almost 30 years. They have a good record with their previous agency and especially with POST (Peace Officers Standards and Training) through Georgia. And the BEST part is that they are already certified officers, saving Hiram approximately 20k per officer.
It appears that the city manager wasn't that crazy about the idea, but he didn't bother to look at the Cobb School District PD who is comprised of 60+ officers (as opposed to the 11 or 12 they have in Hiram) and which 90% are retied from the category I mentioned above.
My other downfall was not agreeing that Hiram pursue a full blown, independent SWAT Team. There are simply not enough people for that idea right now. And if even all 11 or 12 certified officers were interested, not all would qualify. SWAT is an extremely rigorous assignment and you can't just pull it off because you are a certified officer. I tried to explain that a SWAT unit had to have an A and B team, with one on call at all times, so the best you could have would be 6 on one and 6 on the other. If you encounter a 24 hour "stand-off" at a bank or a house, etc, you have to have one team relieve the other at some point. You can NOT keep the same people on post forever. My suggestion was to select 3 or 4 officer that could qualify, send them to SWAT school and offer to augment the Sheriff's Office when extra help is needed. Then, when they need the favor in return, the Sheriff's Office personnel would augment Hiram's team in the event of a SWAT call out.
I was told that the previous Chief purchased a room full of armament and gear that filled an entire room and has never been used because they didn't have a SWAT Team. It looks like he eventually figured out what I was trying to tell the city manage at the time. It seems as though some cities feel like they have to emulate LAPD or NYPD to achieve respect in the community, and that's not the case at all. That's why city managers should operate the city and Police Chiefs should operate the police department. If the city manager is going to dictate to the PD, then he or she needs to put on a uniform and strap on a gun belt and hit the streets.
It's probably for the best and the Lord's will that I wasn't offered the job. Of course, I might have been if the city manager had bothered to call my references, like the Sheriff of Cobb County or my current Chief. If there is any discrimination in Hiram, it was at that point where I wasn't even given the benefit of a full background. I told the city manager that I suspected I wasn't going to be offered the job because he hadn't even checked with the obvious people. I actually felt better about myself that the decision was made because someone behind the scenes (and I know who it was) was favoring the current chief for personal reasons and NOT the fact that he was any better of a police administrator than I would have been.
Water under the bridge. Besides, I am a busy author anyway...
At least this suit is against the previous chief and not the current one. We competed for the job and I got to know the current chief pretty well. He's a good man and I didn't see any resemblance to a person who would discriminate. One of the ideas I pushed to the city manager was to hire recently retired Cobb Officers since most of them were eligible to retire around 50 years of age. These officers are mature, had demonstrated loyalty and the capability of doing the job simply by virtue of them successfully surviving a police career for almost 30 years. They have a good record with their previous agency and especially with POST (Peace Officers Standards and Training) through Georgia. And the BEST part is that they are already certified officers, saving Hiram approximately 20k per officer.
It appears that the city manager wasn't that crazy about the idea, but he didn't bother to look at the Cobb School District PD who is comprised of 60+ officers (as opposed to the 11 or 12 they have in Hiram) and which 90% are retied from the category I mentioned above.
My other downfall was not agreeing that Hiram pursue a full blown, independent SWAT Team. There are simply not enough people for that idea right now. And if even all 11 or 12 certified officers were interested, not all would qualify. SWAT is an extremely rigorous assignment and you can't just pull it off because you are a certified officer. I tried to explain that a SWAT unit had to have an A and B team, with one on call at all times, so the best you could have would be 6 on one and 6 on the other. If you encounter a 24 hour "stand-off" at a bank or a house, etc, you have to have one team relieve the other at some point. You can NOT keep the same people on post forever. My suggestion was to select 3 or 4 officer that could qualify, send them to SWAT school and offer to augment the Sheriff's Office when extra help is needed. Then, when they need the favor in return, the Sheriff's Office personnel would augment Hiram's team in the event of a SWAT call out.
I was told that the previous Chief purchased a room full of armament and gear that filled an entire room and has never been used because they didn't have a SWAT Team. It looks like he eventually figured out what I was trying to tell the city manage at the time. It seems as though some cities feel like they have to emulate LAPD or NYPD to achieve respect in the community, and that's not the case at all. That's why city managers should operate the city and Police Chiefs should operate the police department. If the city manager is going to dictate to the PD, then he or she needs to put on a uniform and strap on a gun belt and hit the streets.
It's probably for the best and the Lord's will that I wasn't offered the job. Of course, I might have been if the city manager had bothered to call my references, like the Sheriff of Cobb County or my current Chief. If there is any discrimination in Hiram, it was at that point where I wasn't even given the benefit of a full background. I told the city manager that I suspected I wasn't going to be offered the job because he hadn't even checked with the obvious people. I actually felt better about myself that the decision was made because someone behind the scenes (and I know who it was) was favoring the current chief for personal reasons and NOT the fact that he was any better of a police administrator than I would have been.
Water under the bridge. Besides, I am a busy author anyway...
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