I been hammering on this one since Friday, but I have been reluctant to turn it loose for one reason and one reason only.
I reached out to the officer who received the two-week unpaid suspension because of a violation of the FSPD "social media policy" and he politely turned down my offer to let him tell his side of the story. His reluctance is understandable.
Already slammed for a six month old social media post that (in my opinion) doesn't come as close to violating the department's social media policy as past transgressions have that have gone totally unpunished, the officer (in my opinion) is worried about retaliation. And given the situation and the history of the FSPD current administration, rightly so.
So let's clear the air. Nothing I'm about to say or document was given to me by the suspended officer. And this commentary isn't going to endear me to certain folks.
But, in case you missed it last week, I still don't care. That's the bottom line.
I was told about the situation by another disgruntled employee of the department (and take your choice...there are a bunch of them), contacted by two recently FORMER members of the department and given the screen shots of the "offensive" social media post by another front line officer.
So when you order your crooked-ass Internal Affairs investigation into this, call me down to take a lie detector test rather than further punishing the officer in question. Because if a citizen couldn't get an honest result and outcome of an IA investigation a year ago, then this officer damn sure won't get one now given the current situation.
Trust me. Been there and done that. Results of an IA investigation land on the desk of the one person that can and will quash them in his favor or in the favor of his lap dogs.
I'll take a lie-detector test about the sources of this story. One wonders if "some" member of the department would be willing to do the same. In the past incident that chaffs my ass (my incident) my civil rights were violated, laws were broken and when I took it to the county prosecutor, I was told to let Internal Affairs handle it.
I may have been as well off just spitting in the ocean. But I digress.
The officer who received the suspension for the social media post I am about to detail was working in one division (and I am told) asked for a transfer back to patrol out of frustration over a number of policies and policy changes.
He was approached by a member of administration and asked to reconsider and after consulting with his wife, he did and told the administration as much.
A few days later he and some officers were"blindsided" with an email informing them of their transfers. The transfer they asked him to withdraw in the first place.
The officer went on his own social media and posted the following:
In a literal sense, I guess some of that could be considered " critical of the department" but the real problem here is this officer refuses to be a part of the "yes men" culture that now exists in what was once a proud and distinguished department.
He also had filed some complaints against one of the "chosen ones" (I feel your pain, partner!) and after that person gets a promotion where he can effect "discipline" all of a sudden there is a two week suspension doled out for a six month old offense.
The very same person that has committed much more egregious social media policy violations in the past (among other things) on more than one occasion.
Some men get suspended, some men get promoted.
The officer got a two week suspension for the above post six months after the fact. Another city employee called every man in Fort Smith a "sexist" and she caught a week, but only after we forced their hand.
See the point I'm trying to make?
By the way...I have no idea what two week's pay would set an officer back in Fort Smith, but a GoFundMe page started by his friends raised $2000 of a $2000 goal with donations from forty-three people in two days.
So nana, nana, boo boo...
If anyone wants to fix me up with a two week paid vacation, I'm game.
Ladies and gentlemen, I opine there is a reason that the Fort Smith Police Department has lost 677 years of officer and departmental experience in the past two and a half years, and it's not because a bunch of officers "wanted" to retire. I have talked to several who said they would still be there today but for the lack of a stable, balanced and supportive administration.
That apple don't fall far from the administrative tree.
I told you guys at the first of the year that I'm through playing. Not just with this ongoing fiasco, but with the self-serving promotion and profiteering that goes on through the malfeasance of one person who is dictated to and protected by the powers behind the scene that serve the best interest of themselves and eight other individuals/families who REALLY make all the decisions.
A this point, what are they going to do to me? Commit criminal acts against me and then cover them up?
Been there, done that.
The hard working and dedicated men and women of the Fort Smith Police Department deserve better, and the Osmond Brothers were wrong back in 1971.
One bad apple can spoil a whole bunch, girl. I don't care what they say...
