Recently I had spent about seven hours traveling to and from and doing basketball games in Oklahoma that we broadcast on the website.
The trip might not have been as harrowing had we not encountered a monsoon of Biblical proportions on US Highway 69 and Interstate 40 on the way home. From Muskogee until we got of I-40 at Roland, we got to drive 35-40 miles per hour.
Bad enough. Then we get back (about 11:45) and having not eaten a bite all day, we decided to go to Denney's for a late supper. From drink order until we got up and walked out in disgust at 12:23, seven parties that came in after us got waited on and two even got their food.
Thanks, IHOP. We should have chosen you in the first place.
The bottom line. My mellow was already harshed. Then I come home to the following nonsense.
Emails. Why do I even open them?
Here's the condensed version.
On January 15th of this year a new Uniform and Appearance policy went into effect at the Fort Smith Police Department.
I already addressed his issue in a previous column. If the power-that-shouldn't-be would spend as much time worrying about his renegade officers and vetting his promotional decisions as he does about facial hair and "proper" head gear, he wouldn't be faced with a divided fraternity of employees.
So "Straight out of Pine Bluff" (and other places) makes this unilateral decision about "dress code" in the dead of winter.
Even though officers read and signed the policy they were not issued all of their equipment (namely a department-issued watch cap/cold weather beanie.)
Well, let's fast forward a little bit to the last few weeks. Multiple supervisors are currently being investigated because they "let" their officers wear something to keep their heads warm on January 15 at a charity event. The caps were issued on the very next day
The word is that no officers even knew they were being issued these as they have always supplied their own. There is also a strong possibility of multiple officers (who weren't issued one) being investigated for wearing what they had worn for years during the Fort Smith Marathon.
Their supervisors are being accused of Failing To Supervise and some officers are being accused of insubordination. Because, you know, rules are rules. Except when they aren't.
There is even a report of a supervisor using his own money during the marathon to go and buy an officer- -who was obviously freezing - - a non-issued hat and some gloves so that she could keep warm. That supervisor faces "investigation". Because, you know, it's a really urgent matter.
Just so we're clear here, Chief....
It's okay for an employee of the FSPD to illegally access records, use information obtained during that breach of department procedure in an effort to blackmail and extort a citizen (possibly at your behest) and sail through an internal affairs "investigation" about the incident and his punishment is...a promotion?
But hard-working officers who failed to adhere to your para-military (remember that word?) "dress code" because YOUR department failed to issue them proper equipment are now being called on the carpet because they wanted to keep their ears warm?
And people wonder why I wake up every morning pissed off at the universe? It's because the universe is hell bent and whiskey bound to do stuff to piss me off.
A lot of officers have been pissed off about a lot of stuff in the last nineteen months. Now, not so many as before, because of raises and equipment upgrades that made life at least a little more tolerable and cemented the notion that the only option is to accept their fate and make the best out of a bad situation.
But hey...they hired back an officer that should have never been fired in the first place. And to his credit, the Chief didn't do the firing and has welcomed the officer back with open arms.
Because, you know, women should count in those "diversity" numbers too.