Mike Irwin
Member
This is absolute crap of the highest water. The last couple chiefs have been toadying kiss-??? trolls. From what I can tell, talking to a number of USPP officers, including a very good friend, the chief only voiced concerns that just about every officer in the Caparea has voiced.
(From the Washington (Com)Post...
DOI moves to fire US Park Police Chief
U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa C. Chambers, who was placed on leave after stating publicly that her department was understaffed, was formally notified yesterday that the National Park Service intends to fire her.
The notification, which was faxed to an attorney for Chambers yesterday morning, caps two weeks of suspense and intrigue at the Park Police, a 620-member department whose chief responsibility is safeguarding the Mall and its monuments.
Called a "proposal for removal," the notification for the first time stipulates the charges against Chambers, according to people familiar with the document. Chambers is accused, among other allegations, of improperly lobbying Congress and disclosing secret budget details through her public comments.
Peter Noone, Chambers's attorney, said she will defend herself by citing her First Amendment rights as well as the federal Whistleblower Protection Act. Noone said Chambers is not interested in any settlement that requires her to quit.
Chambers, 46, began her law enforcement career with the Prince George's police department in 1976. She was police chief in Durham, N.C., in 2001, when she became the first woman to lead the Park Police.
She declined to comment yesterday, but in a posting to www.usparkpolice.org, a Web site for retired officers, she described being put on leave as a day when "my world and my identity fell apart."
The notification was sent by the Park Service, which is a part of the Department of the Interior. John Wright, a department spokesman, said Chambers has 15 calendar days to respond. The final decision will be made by Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, Wright said.
Wright declined to provide details about the charges, saying, "We don't believe it is appropriate to debate, or make fair decisions about federal employees, in a public forum or through the media."
Union officials, who said they learned of the accusations against Chambers from people close to the chief, said she also is charged with insubordination. Jim Austin, the head of the Park Police labor union, said one insubordination charge relates to Chambers's failure to call a meeting this spring requested by her Park Service supervisor, Deputy Director Don Murphy.
The union has been a vocal supporter of Chambers over the last two weeks. Jeff Capps, who until Wednesday was the head of the union, said that a dismissal of Chambers would prompt many officers to leave the department.
"This is going to be a big catalyst for people bailing out of here," Capps said.
The chief got in trouble with her superiors after she said in several interviews that she had to curtail patrols beyond the Mall because of an Interior Department order requiring four officers to be posted at the Washington Monument and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.
"It's fair to say where it's green, it belongs to us in Washington, D.C.," Chambers, in a Dec. 2 article in The Washington Post, said of her department, which also patrols major commuter parkways and many smaller parks in the area. "Well, there's not enough of us to go around to protect those green spaces anymore."
When Chambers was placed on leave, Murphy said she had broken two rules -- one barring public comment about ongoing budget discussions and another that prohibits lobbying by someone in her position.
Murphy, while expressing displeasure at Chambers's comments, initially said the Park Service was not contemplating suspending or firing her. But within days, Chambers was summoned to the Interior Department and, as armed guards stood by, placed on leave and ordered to surrender her badge and service weapon.
The action follows months of debate over the future of the Park Police, which began as a group of watchmen in 1791 and now has features of a big city police department, including narcotics detectives, a helicopter and a SWAT team.
Murphy, in an interview this week, said Chambers had not done a review of her department's staffing and mission, as requested by the Park Service and Congress. The review was recommended by a 2001 consultant's report, which found that 15 percent of the force's work fell outside its core mission. It suggested that the Park Police turn over drug investigations to D.C. police and patrols on the Baltimore-Washington or George Washington Memorial parkways to state authorities.
Chambers has said that focusing more officers on the Mall would turn them into security guards, demoralizing the force and prompting an exodus.
Yesterday, experts on federal personnel law said that Chambers might have a strong defense. If she spoke out to warn the public about potential dangers to health or safety, they said, she would be afforded legal protection.
"It seems like a big overreaction. It seems like it puts them in jeopardy of being accused of . . . retaliating against a whistleblower," said Elaine Kaplan, a former head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which handles whistleblower cases.
Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, said he knows of no other government official who has been punished so severely for publicly noting a need for more resources. "That's almost coffee talk in Washington, D.C.," said Devine, whose group assists whistleblowers.
(From the Washington (Com)Post...
DOI moves to fire US Park Police Chief
U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa C. Chambers, who was placed on leave after stating publicly that her department was understaffed, was formally notified yesterday that the National Park Service intends to fire her.
The notification, which was faxed to an attorney for Chambers yesterday morning, caps two weeks of suspense and intrigue at the Park Police, a 620-member department whose chief responsibility is safeguarding the Mall and its monuments.
Called a "proposal for removal," the notification for the first time stipulates the charges against Chambers, according to people familiar with the document. Chambers is accused, among other allegations, of improperly lobbying Congress and disclosing secret budget details through her public comments.
Peter Noone, Chambers's attorney, said she will defend herself by citing her First Amendment rights as well as the federal Whistleblower Protection Act. Noone said Chambers is not interested in any settlement that requires her to quit.
Chambers, 46, began her law enforcement career with the Prince George's police department in 1976. She was police chief in Durham, N.C., in 2001, when she became the first woman to lead the Park Police.
She declined to comment yesterday, but in a posting to www.usparkpolice.org, a Web site for retired officers, she described being put on leave as a day when "my world and my identity fell apart."
The notification was sent by the Park Service, which is a part of the Department of the Interior. John Wright, a department spokesman, said Chambers has 15 calendar days to respond. The final decision will be made by Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, Wright said.
Wright declined to provide details about the charges, saying, "We don't believe it is appropriate to debate, or make fair decisions about federal employees, in a public forum or through the media."
Union officials, who said they learned of the accusations against Chambers from people close to the chief, said she also is charged with insubordination. Jim Austin, the head of the Park Police labor union, said one insubordination charge relates to Chambers's failure to call a meeting this spring requested by her Park Service supervisor, Deputy Director Don Murphy.
The union has been a vocal supporter of Chambers over the last two weeks. Jeff Capps, who until Wednesday was the head of the union, said that a dismissal of Chambers would prompt many officers to leave the department.
"This is going to be a big catalyst for people bailing out of here," Capps said.
The chief got in trouble with her superiors after she said in several interviews that she had to curtail patrols beyond the Mall because of an Interior Department order requiring four officers to be posted at the Washington Monument and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.
"It's fair to say where it's green, it belongs to us in Washington, D.C.," Chambers, in a Dec. 2 article in The Washington Post, said of her department, which also patrols major commuter parkways and many smaller parks in the area. "Well, there's not enough of us to go around to protect those green spaces anymore."
When Chambers was placed on leave, Murphy said she had broken two rules -- one barring public comment about ongoing budget discussions and another that prohibits lobbying by someone in her position.
Murphy, while expressing displeasure at Chambers's comments, initially said the Park Service was not contemplating suspending or firing her. But within days, Chambers was summoned to the Interior Department and, as armed guards stood by, placed on leave and ordered to surrender her badge and service weapon.
The action follows months of debate over the future of the Park Police, which began as a group of watchmen in 1791 and now has features of a big city police department, including narcotics detectives, a helicopter and a SWAT team.
Murphy, in an interview this week, said Chambers had not done a review of her department's staffing and mission, as requested by the Park Service and Congress. The review was recommended by a 2001 consultant's report, which found that 15 percent of the force's work fell outside its core mission. It suggested that the Park Police turn over drug investigations to D.C. police and patrols on the Baltimore-Washington or George Washington Memorial parkways to state authorities.
Chambers has said that focusing more officers on the Mall would turn them into security guards, demoralizing the force and prompting an exodus.
Yesterday, experts on federal personnel law said that Chambers might have a strong defense. If she spoke out to warn the public about potential dangers to health or safety, they said, she would be afforded legal protection.
"It seems like a big overreaction. It seems like it puts them in jeopardy of being accused of . . . retaliating against a whistleblower," said Elaine Kaplan, a former head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which handles whistleblower cases.
Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, said he knows of no other government official who has been punished so severely for publicly noting a need for more resources. "That's almost coffee talk in Washington, D.C.," said Devine, whose group assists whistleblowers.
:banghead: 