I just don't get it. And apparently the powers that be in the City of Fort Smith don't either.
Here we are just a few weeks removed from the city attorney and the city administration geting slapped around by the state Attorney General's office for trying to circumvent the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act -- again -- and when they are caught with their pants down, FSPD officers step forth and respond with ongoing complaints about a situation.
And the rsponse is to deny the truth and--again --try to skirt the issue with a half-hearted FOIA response.
The bottom line? I have reached the point of no return and my patience is running thin. I don't know if I am more offended by the arrogance or the attituide that I'm too stupid to ferret out the truth in these matters. I've said it before and I guess I have to say it again.
Never ask a question you don't know the answer to.
In the wake of a press release issued on Monday saying that the fiasco about the Law Enforcement Torch run was a misunderstanding, I immediately filed an FOIA request with the city.
That request, in part, asked for:
"Any and all emails, interoffice memos and/or other pertinent information concerning the administrative decision to inform membersof the FSPD to not allow them to participate in the "Law Enforcement Torch Run" and any and all related correspondence regarding the stated"misunderstanding" between "command" members and the reversal of the original decision.
This would include any correspondence between the chief of police and command officers, command officers and rank and file officers, Human Resources and FSPD administration, command personnel, or frontline officers and any correspondence between city administration, human resources, and the police department.
This request includes--but is not limited to-- any correspondence involving, originating with or concerning Major Larry Rannells, Chief Nathaniel Clark, Naomi Roundtree, Carl Geffken or Lt. Wes Milam concerning this matter.
Also included in this request any and all correspondence between Ms.Roundtree, any of the police command including Major Rannells and Chief Clark and "Community Outreach" Officer Wendell Sampson."
A lot of what I asked for, I already had. And sure enough, documents that would have fallen under the guideline requests were not included in the city's response. So it's yet another brazen attempt to circumvent the FOIA laws in Arkansas.
What I asked for was the correspondence between the parties involved speciaifically stating that officers would be required to be off the clock to participate. What I got back was a series of emails between Carl Geffken and Chief Clark dated April 2 -- after the original story appeared -- blowing smoke about some seargent and another officer that wanted to participate in an "out of town" run.
The response I got had nothing to do with the information I requested. Maybe State Attorney General Leslie Rutledge will have an opinon on the matter. We shall see.
There is absolutely no doubt that officers were told they could not participate in the Torch Run on "company time". There is also absolutely no doubt that at least two "community outreach" basketball games have been played by officers that were on duty and at least on once occasion, overtime pay was involved.
Do any of you out there honestly think I have nothing better to do than sit here and make this stuff up?
So far, let's see where my pursuit of the truth has gotten me in the five months I have been doing this site. Harassed, extorted, targeted, sponsors contacted and threatened, an attempted backdoor deal to buy me out (or off) and my personal and civil rights violated.
Yeah. Let me throw out another story to keep that going. Because it's so much fun and the financial reward has been so staggering.
The entire point of the original story was to point out how one set of officers are perceived and treated differently than another set of officers. By an administration on every level that should be very sensitive of discriminatory practices
If that makes me the bad guy, then so be it. But I stand behind the original story.
Stop trying to kill the messenger.