Grove Police Chief Resigns
Grove Police Chief Ivan Devitt III submitted his letter of resignation to new city manager Bruce Johnson Tuesday morning. Although he gave two weeks notice, he was asked to vacate his office immediately.
Sources said that the Fraternal Order of Police had threatened a "no confidence" vote on Devitt which might have interfered with his ability to perform effectively in the Chief's position. Devitt was appointed Chief of Police 15 months ago by then city manager Bill Galletly and since the election of three city councilmen in April his job stability has been in question.
Councilman Larry Parham has questioned Devitt's experience for the Chief's position, where Devitt spent 18 years on the Houston, Tex. police force. The council refused to give the police department the increased funding and four new officers Devitt had asked for in next year's budget; it refused to pass an ordinance banning smoking within 50 feet of an accident, suggested by Devitt; and it leaned on then acting city manager Debbie Mavity to ban uniformed policemen from council and trust authority meetings. Devitt had worked city meetings on his own time.
The FOP could have taken a vote on Devitt anytime the past year, but waited until a new city manager was on board.
One official who asked not to be identified said "this is nothing more than the council getting the FOP to do the dirty work, with a new city manager. The City Attorney and City Treasurer may be next. This is a travesty."
There are 19 policemen on the force, including the Chief, and he and assistant Mark Morris are the only two non-union members.
After being hired July 1, Johnson had visited with former chief Mark Wall and the FOP union president Mike O 'Herin before meeting with Devitt.
Devitt said that during his tenure on the force, a new Pet of the Day Program was begun; animal control policies were changed; internal procedures were revamped; patrols were made more visible; a radar trailer was purchased, school safety issues were re-worked; and two ESPN BASSmasters tournaments were handled 100% successfully. In addition, the courtroom was moved to city hall and new offices were added and remodeled for the first time in many years; a monthly crime report was put together and given to city hall, where previously there had been no such report; and the Canine officer was moved from night shift to day shift where the animal could be used in the schools as a drug deterrent. This caused some turmoil as the canine officer did not want to move to days so he was made a patrolman. The other canine officer did not want to work days either "so now we have a canine officer on the night shift without a canine." Both canine officers have retained attorneys and are threatening to sue the city for compensation for time spent in the care and feeding of the canine, even though they are already compensated for it, Devitt said.
Phone calls to City Manager Johnson and Mike O'Herin, President of the local FOP, were not returned. Sources said Johnson has named Mark Morris Acting Chief of Police and a search will be launched for a new police chief.
Devitt refrained from commenting on his resignation, other than to say it was official.
Sources said that the Fraternal Order of Police had threatened a "no confidence" vote on Devitt which might have interfered with his ability to perform effectively in the Chief's position. Devitt was appointed Chief of Police 15 months ago by then city manager Bill Galletly and since the election of three city councilmen in April his job stability has been in question.
Councilman Larry Parham has questioned Devitt's experience for the Chief's position, where Devitt spent 18 years on the Houston, Tex. police force. The council refused to give the police department the increased funding and four new officers Devitt had asked for in next year's budget; it refused to pass an ordinance banning smoking within 50 feet of an accident, suggested by Devitt; and it leaned on then acting city manager Debbie Mavity to ban uniformed policemen from council and trust authority meetings. Devitt had worked city meetings on his own time.
The FOP could have taken a vote on Devitt anytime the past year, but waited until a new city manager was on board.
One official who asked not to be identified said "this is nothing more than the council getting the FOP to do the dirty work, with a new city manager. The City Attorney and City Treasurer may be next. This is a travesty."
There are 19 policemen on the force, including the Chief, and he and assistant Mark Morris are the only two non-union members.
After being hired July 1, Johnson had visited with former chief Mark Wall and the FOP union president Mike O 'Herin before meeting with Devitt.
Devitt said that during his tenure on the force, a new Pet of the Day Program was begun; animal control policies were changed; internal procedures were revamped; patrols were made more visible; a radar trailer was purchased, school safety issues were re-worked; and two ESPN BASSmasters tournaments were handled 100% successfully. In addition, the courtroom was moved to city hall and new offices were added and remodeled for the first time in many years; a monthly crime report was put together and given to city hall, where previously there had been no such report; and the Canine officer was moved from night shift to day shift where the animal could be used in the schools as a drug deterrent. This caused some turmoil as the canine officer did not want to move to days so he was made a patrolman. The other canine officer did not want to work days either "so now we have a canine officer on the night shift without a canine." Both canine officers have retained attorneys and are threatening to sue the city for compensation for time spent in the care and feeding of the canine, even though they are already compensated for it, Devitt said.
Phone calls to City Manager Johnson and Mike O'Herin, President of the local FOP, were not returned. Sources said Johnson has named Mark Morris Acting Chief of Police and a search will be launched for a new police chief.
Devitt refrained from commenting on his resignation, other than to say it was official.
Labels: Grove Events
posted by Editor | 2:00 AM
5 Comments:
Why not contact a Reprenstative of the Fraternal Order of Police, for the other side of the story?
Actually, we did. We left a message with Mike O'Herin who is President of the FOP; we left two messages with City Manager Bruce Johnson. When and if they return our calls we will be happy to print their views on this subject.
The Editor
Although not so labeled, this Breaking News is obviously written as an editorial (opinion) rather than straight news. But before we get too excited, a little context might be helpful.
The past city manager purged the city departments of leadership tied to the administration prior to his, ironically including the police chief. The new city council, now with a new city manager of their own choosing, is most certainly going to choose their own team, especially at the department head level.
Fair for the goose, fair for the gander.
Yes, what goes around comes around and all that. Some get fired for non performance, others for revenge. But wouldn't it be nice if our local government put the needs of our citizens ahead of the geese?
The Editor
Well I didn't like the previous city manager but I liked some of the stuff Mr. Devitt was doing. This purge was expected and not without historical precident. I guess Mr. Devitt was just a snowball who happened to find himself in the town of hell.
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