Last week the Palm Springs Police Officers Association finally dropped it's lawsuit against the city of Palm Springs involving the naming of officers involved in shootings. The lawsuit was doomed to failure but I congratulate the Desert Sun which spent a lot of time and money in fighting the union. In an editorial, the paper clearly spelled out the reasons for this information to be made public. The PSPOA tried to throw up the red herring of officer safety but fortunately, they caved.
It was also announced last week, that Chief Al Franz was retiring. This will give the new administration in Palm Springs a chance to set a new tone in relations with the department. After the forced resignation of David Dominguez over the Warm Sands sting, the PSPOA flexed it's muscles and demanded that it have input in the selection of the next chief. That of course should have been rejected out of hand by the City Council. It wasn't. In no way shape or form should the PSPOA have any input in the selection of a new chief.
I personally like Al Franz. Full disclosure, I have known Al's brother Benny for over 20 years. I think Al has done a good job but now it is time for a new head, preferably not one with local ties.
In the last 4 years, 2 members of the Department have been arrested. One, a woman who worked out od the Palm Springs Girls and Boys Club, was a former Drug Prevention Officer. She was charged with having sex with an underage minor. Also there was the married PSPD Lieutenant who was arrested and then released when his girlfriend disappeared. She was found safe and he was fired for insubordination later but kept his roughly 60k a year pension for life.
The overwhelming majority of the Palm Springs PD are courteous, highly trained professionals. They have a tough job, one in which it cannot be stressed enough that they volunteered for!! They are owed respect and courtesy but not subservience.
There has been talk of setting up a Civilian Review Board for the PSPD. I don't think that at this point such a move is necessary. Also there will be a tendency to judge a new chief on his/her relationship with the LGBT community. That should only be one criteria. The new chief should also be able to reach out to other communities including the long neglected African American community.
We have been told it will no longer be business as usual in Palm Springs. In the next few weeks the new mayor and council will have a chance to prove that. This is a good test.
Steve Kelly can be reached at skelly@rrbroadcasting.com
And what about Officer Nordham who taxpayers have had to pay legal fees and settlements in three separate incidents?
ReplyDeleteThe PSPOA lost my "vote" way back when they slammed former police chief Lee Weigel in his re-election bid. Whether they were justified or not, I don't know.....but there are ways of doing things and they did it very badly.
ReplyDeleteThen came this election when they put their name and their money behind Ms. Foat.....in the middle of an FBI investigation. Wouldn't it have been better simply not to endorse ANYone????
Don't pass that donations jar my way any time soon.