A rift in the Police Department has resulted in an investigation into a police lieutenant whose behavior, in a letter from 20 fellow officers to city leaders, was described as belittling and unprofessional.
The investigation into Lt. Gregory Melvin was prompted by the allegations officers made in their complaint, Orange City Police Chief Jeffrey Baskoff said.
Melvin is not on suspension or under any disciplinary action while the investigation is conducted, City Attorney Gary Glassman said.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal obtained a copy of the complaint, written on Police Department letterhead, sent to Baskoff. It is signed by 20 officers who wrote down their badge numbers next to their signatures. The only officers excluded are the chief, Melvin, a commander and a sergeant. The officers who signed the complaint said they no longer have confidence in Melvin's leadership.
In the letter, the officers accuse Melvin of belittling them in public time and time again, ignoring the chain of command and being unprofessional on the road, "so much so, that every one of us would prefer that he not respond to our calls."
Melvin has an "unharnessed and unpredictable temper and escalates every scene he responds to," the officers also said in the letter.
The complaint states that many officers are on the verge of resignation because of Melvin's behavior and that morale in the department has reached an all-time low, and "nothing short of the lieutenant's resignation/termination will rectify the irreparable damage he caused."
Melvin could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and Baskoff said neither he nor Melvin will speak on the matter.
"We will not discuss anything whatsoever that has to do with that complaint," Baskoff said.
Information in the complaint is all the information about Melvin that could be obtained by The News-Journal as the chief and city officials are keeping his records secret.
Baskoff ignored a written public records request from the newspaper for documents regarding Melvin. The request asked for Melvin's personnel, disciplinary, performance and evaluation files. The newspaper also asked for Melvin's job specifications, records of suspension, commendations and completed internal affairs reports.
Baskoff responded to the newspaper's request after nine days, only after The News-Journal made repeated calls to the city attorney, Glassman, and after a visit to the police station and City Hall. Glassman promised the records would be available for inspection Wednesday morning but by late Wednesday, Baskoff had not granted access to the files.
"We are not official record-keepers," Baskoff said. "We don't hold the records. You sent me the request and I sent it to the city clerk."
City Clerk Debbie Renner said Wednesday staff members are working on the request.
Barbara Petersen, attorney and president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, said the "jerking around" by officials goes against the requirement of the public records law.
"There is a requirement under public records law that requires an agency to respond promptly and in good faith, and produce records within a reasonable time," Petersen said. "For it to take eight days to get a copy of a personnel file is not prompt and reasonable. There is a violation of the prompt-response requirement."
"You are asking for something for which you have the constitutional right to have access to."
Orange City Mayor Harley Strickland also declined to comment, stating the city attorney directed him not to say anything about the complaint.
But the mayor's brother James Hugh Strickland, a lifelong resident who maintains a blog about city affairs called "Birds Sleep With One Eye Open," said there is concern in the community about how the chief and city manager are handling the situation.
James Strickland said when officers "are willing to put their names and badge numbers in a complaint, it's an indication that the problem has been going on for a long time."
No comments:
Post a Comment