The Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police has cast a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Mayor Gary Fletcher and City Attorney Robert Bamburg, saying the two men have shown an “inability” to lead the city’s Police Department.
The organization leveled criticism against Fletcher and Bamburg in a statement announcing the weekend vote, raising concerns about a recent notice of personnel transfers, among other topics. Bamburg was appointed as the department’s police director in July, and the mayor has said he will remain in the position during the hiring process for a new police chief.
The emailed notice, which was sent by Bamburg to department personnel Thursday, gave information on the transfers of about 75 percent to 80 percent of the department, said Gary Sipes, a former Jacksonville police chief and a spokesman for the city’s Fraternal Order of Police.
The group’s statement also said Bamburg only wants to communicate by email and has excluded captains from taking part in hiring boards, disciplinary consultations and budget preparation.
Instead of appointing one of two captains, Fletcher caused “further turmoil” by allowing Bamburg to continue as police director, the statement said.
The mayor appointed Bamburg as director days after a Pulaski County circuit judge removed Geoffrey Herweg, who was hired as police chief last spring, from the post pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by City Council Member Tara Smith.
Earlier this month, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that a past false-report conviction disqualifies Herweg from holding the police chief position.
“They do not speak for the whole department,” Fletcher said Monday of the police organization.
He said Jacksonville officers have come to him to express their support and that Bamburg is doing a great job as police director.
Jacksonville police will have 52 sworn officers once six positions are filled, Fletcher said. Those six positions are in the process of being filled, he said.
Jacksonville police spokesman April Kiser said earlier this month that the department had 59 sworn officers.
Sipes said a little more than half of the department’s sworn personnel are part of the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police.
He said Bamburg transferred a large part of the department workforce, including all sworn officers in the Criminal Investigation Division. In its statement, the Fraternal Order of Police said those detectives are experienced and have specialized training.
Sipes also reported that the transfers, which were outlined in an email Thursday, went into effect Sunday.
“Police Officers are real people too; several are single parents and they must arrange child care and other day-to-day matters,” the group’s statement says. “None of these concerns were taken into account by Fletcher or Bamburg.”
In the email, Bamburg wrote he had considered the changes for some time, “but was hoping our Supreme Court would rule differently and allow another person to address these issues, letting me return to my primary duties of handling the City’s legal issues.”
Further delay in implementing the changes, he wrote, would be detrimental and would only “delay the inevitable.”
Bamburg said in the email that the changes are best for the community and all in the department, but mentioned he did not expect everybody to be happy with the modifications. He also wrote that law enforcement experts agree that a change in duties and assignments is “best for employees and a Community for many reasons.”
“We don’t live in a perfect world where we get what we want all the time, and we’re here to protect and serve; doing so efficiently and effectively is and will remain our primary goal,” he wrote in the email. “As I’ve mentioned time and time again, we’re all professionals and need to conduct ourselves in that manner.”
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained the email from Smith on Tuesday.
Fletcher said the transfers were done to put more police officers on the street. He acknowledged that some personnel were upset about the changes. And in response to the group’s statement, Fletcher said he would continue to focus on his job.
Sipes said the motive for the transfers was retaliation.
“It just all points to retaliation for the Herweg deal,” he said. Sipes said the mayor blamed the Criminal Investigation Division for putting forward information on Herweg.
In 2002, Herweg pleaded guilty to giving a false report to a police officer in Texas, according to court records.
In a 6-1 decision earlier this month, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the conviction was a “crime of dishonesty” that disqualified Herweg fro serving as police chief under Article 5, Section 9 of the Arkansas Constitution. The section prevents a person convicted of an “infamous crime” from holding “any office of trust or profit in this State.”
The email about the transfers also gave information about changes to the take-home vehicle program, the Fraternal Order of Police statement said. The group’s statement said the program would be discontinued for personnel in the Criminal Investigation Division and for members of the Special Response Team.
With that change, the police organization says, police in those units will have to drive their personal vehicles to crime scenes or go to the department to get their assigned vehicles — which would delay their response times.
The organization also raised concerns about how Bamburg communicates with the department. Bamburg is “generally unavailable for immediate consultation” and wants to communicate only by email, it said.
Bamburg did not respond to a request for an interview.
Metro on 03/28/2018