My "little blog" leads me on a tactical and surprising journey each and every day. Sometimes I can be heading down one road, find a fork in that road and -- given my wanderlust for the truth -- force the robotic lady on On Star to tell me I have left the planned route.
It's not always by design, but sometimes it is. I tend to think of Robert Frost, iambic tetrameter and where the newly discovered road may take me.
The bottom line? The road less traveled seldom fails to disappoint, be it in life or journalistic pursuits. Sometimes you stumble onto a dead end and other times you discover a glorious waterfall at the end of the rainbow.
Yesterday I started hearing about a memo that had been circulated by the City of Fort Smith concerning participation by officers of the FSPD in the annual Special Olympic Torch Run in April.
After decades of officers being able to lace up their sneakers and run a leg in this very worthy charity event, the order had come down on high last Friday that henceforth the officers that would otherwise be on duty would have to use vacation time to participate.
I guess since there seems to be no serious system of checks and balances on the administrative level of any department, the "city" can (and does) make up anything they want to on the fly to justify their current scheme of world domination.
Not the whole world. Just the part of the world that sits at 35.3859° N longitude and, 94.3985° W latitude and used to be a compelling and wonderful place to live and raise a family.
As I posted in a comment section on a discussion about this subject last night, the lead-up, execution and argument about this issue boils down to a simple "either/or" equation.
I was told last night officers had been running in the Torch Run for nineteen years without having to use vacation or having their pay docked. The picture printed here is from 1989, which means this has been the case for at least 28-years. according to the people who sent me the picture.
So, every administrator and/or supervisor that has been in charge since 1989 has broken policy and probably violated the law by defrauding taxpayers.
That includes the sitting City Administrator, Human Resource Director and the current Chief of Police. All those folks EITHER broke policy and possibly committed fraud against the taxpayers OR there had been no policy in place to address the issue.
If the latter is the case and "we" unilaterally decided last Friday the practice was some sort of breach of protocol, then since 1989 EITHER everyone who looked the other way has been incompetent and malfeasant OR a lot of folks who have worked for and is working for the city right now owes us some money. If they don't pay it they should be arrested for fraud.
I didn't paint you guys into this corner. I'm just pointing out the brush strokes.
Given the new found zeal for riding herd on wasteful spending, I've got a Basketball Jones. I would also assume that allowing and encouraging officers to play basketball on overtime ay "community outreach events" falls within those parameters as well?
It's obvious that "some" officers have been authorized and encouraged to organize Hoopfest with the blessing of the higher ups as long as they "keep an eye" on the overtime. I'm not even opposed to that community outreach. I'm just trying to get a read here as to when and whom these "rules" apply.
It's like basketball is more diverse than running a 5K. Or so it seems.
Life is an either/or proposition. But just like everything else in this city where the rules apply only to those that don't get to make the rules, this is hypocrisy at the highest level. And the continuation of a caste system dictated by those that have appointed themselves as the feudal masters. We don't even get to be in the pyramid.
As a realist who has no trouble seeing the handwriting on the wall, I can predict the outcome of all this.
Depending on your point of view, the right thing would be to rescind the latest decision and let the officers run or to stick to your guns and shut it all down. Lay-ups and three-point shots included. If that's the case, when everytime the PD hoops it up in the future, expect an FOIA from me demanding timesheet information.
Since none of these people are ever going to admit there is a slight chance they may have been wrong about something, the policy moving forward will be no officers doing anything while on the clock other than just being cops.
No more changing flats for little old ladies, helping a stranded motorist push their cars out of traffic, stopping to play basketball with kids in a driveway, or taking the time to visit with and mentor a young person they encounter that they didn't have to handcuff.
So much for "community outreach".
The ironic thing in all of this is that my posting concerning a subtle "message" being sent to me when I got a visit from one of their representatives yesterday in response to all the fuss I have created over Neighborhood Services led to the sources reaching out to me about the Torch Run. The city hoisted itself on its own petard.
One thing leads to another. The road less traveled.
Destination unknown.