Is Tulsa's Next Police Chief....

[Copperhead]

By 4:00 pm today, Tulsa will have a new police chief, well kinda new anyway, and the winner is?

Let us all welcome back Chief Ron Palmer!

First smart thing Mayor Taylor - aka MayTay has done since elected, IMHO . .

Glad to have you back Chief!  Even though you become her at-will chief, you are smart enough to work around that, since you had and likely retained the trust and support of the citizens and officers.

But PLEASE, first order of business, send Bostrom, the four-star impersonating chief packing, and take our uniform, weapon and other city owned property back asap - seeing him in Tulsa's uniform is almost as uncomfortable as having MayTay in the mayor's chair!

Good luck Ron, and may the Force Be With You!

[tulsa_fan]

I think that is AWESOME!  Oh I hope he's as good as he was the first time!

[iplaw]

And the winner is....

[aoxamaxoa]

Ron Palmer works. If true, the Mayor has once again pulled off a smart move.


sidebar comment removed

[Kiah]

Is he a black lesbian?  The FOP will accept nothing less.

[iplaw]

quote:Originally posted by Kiah

Is he a black lesbian?  The FOP will accept nothing less.

Don't you mean black, jewish lesbian?

[Kiah]

The TulsaNow Forum scoops the Tulsa World again, by 14 minutes:

Sources: Former Police Chief Ron Palmer to return to top police post

by: STAFF REPORTS
8/29/2007  10:41 AM

Former Tulsa Police Chief Ron Palmer will be returned to his old post today, sources familiar with Mayor Kathy Taylor's decision say.

Taylor has announced plans to name a new police chief today at 3:30 p.m., but has not made the name public yet.

Palmer did not immediately return phone calls Wednesday.

Palmer served as police 1992-2002 and left to become a private security consultant.

David Bostrom, a law enforcement consultant from Wilmington, Del., has served as the interim chief since May.

Taylor has come under fire recently by some police for deciding the post will be an at-will post rather than one covered by civil service.

A lawsuit by the three rejected internal candidates is still pending in Tulsa County District Court. They maintain Taylor is required by the City Charter to hire one of them.

[MH2010]

I posted this reply in the other topic also..

Most officers are relieved Ron Palmer is coming back. The first rumor this morning was that Drew Diamond was the former chief that was going to be hired. After that scare, everyone realized it could have been alot worse.

Most officers respect Chief Palmer and are glad to see a familiar face in the top office. No one is happy about the "at will" aspect of his employment and most officers are curious if this will change how he will manage the police department.

As far as the FOP goes, I don't believe the lawsuits will be dropped regarding the hiring of internal candidates and the new "at will" aspect of the chief's position. In regards to Chief Palmer, the FOP is probably glad he is back in the chief's spot. I think the FOP won 28 out of 32 grievance arbitrations when he was in office.

The more interesting thing to watch will be the reaction of the BOC (Black Officers Coalition). They have no love for Chief Palmer. I wouldn't be surprised if the BOC went to federal court in an effort to get an injunction against the hiring of Chief Palmer. There is a section in the Consent Degree that talks about there will be no changes in the promotion process ect.

The BOC had chosen to stay out of the chief's fight because they thought the mayor would hire someone they could support. However, now that the mayor has rehired Palmer, I hear they are very angry and getting ready to fight to keep him out.

[Copperhead]

Well said and very insightful.

[patric]

Sorry to revive an old post, but sometimes its helpful to re-examine the road traveled rather than re-invent the wheel.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/government-and-politics/tulsa-residents-officers-share-similar-vision-for-next-police-chief/article_16f73129-2834-569f-892e-ce87ad097319.html

No one will be able to say with a clear conscience that Mayor G.T. Bynum wasn't open to hearing from Tulsans about what they're looking for in the city's next police chief and in the Police Department.

Last week alone he held three town hall meetings on the subject. He's met with dozens of north Tulsa faith leaders, the local police union and representatives of the Hispanic community. He's made dozens of phone calls and is spending this weekend making more.

"Throughout my discussions this week there was such a similarity between what people in the community and the city, the citizens, are hoping for from the next police chief and for policing over the next 10 years, and what the officers themselves hope for the next chief and want to see in the city and in policing over the next 10 years," Bynum said.

"I don't think both sides are aware of that (shared vision) because they haven't had the luxury of communicating with one another as I have had over the last couple of weeks," the mayor said.

Three of those shared aspirations became evident during last week's town hall meetings, the mayor said: the desire for the next police chief to have high standards and a clear plan to hold officers accountable for meeting them; for the chief to be personally engaged in the community and expect the same of the officers; and for the department to have the best training in the nation.

Bynum has set no timeline for naming a successor to Chief Chuck Jordan, who is retiring effective Feb. 1. But he has made it clear that that person likely will be chosen from the seven internal candidates who have applied for the job.

"I don't view as synonymous an internal candidate with the status quo," he said. "I think someone who has been in the organization, who understands the organization — the good and the bad — and the people within the organization and also the issues we've been facing in Tulsa over the last several years as it relates to policing and community relations, is better positioned to continue the kinds of improvements we want."

Plenty of speakers at last week's town hall meetings let Bynum know they disagreed with him on that issue. Others urged him to select an African American or other minority. Given the sheer number of people he's heard from, Bynum's bound to disappoint more than a few Tulsans when he makes his decision.

He knows it.

"The clear recognition that I had during the week is that there is no candidate, there is no person alive, who can fit what expectations every person has," he said.

He added: "That is the nature of selecting somebody for a job. There is always going to be people who don't think that you got the right person. And then the real onus is on the person in the job to prove that they were worth the trust in placing it with them."

At the start of each public meeting last week, the mayor laid out the qualities he is looking for in the next police chief. He wants someone who possesses strategies for and understands the importance of continuing existing policies to make the city safer; has bought into and understands the importance of community policing; has strong financial management skills; and is committed to innovation and the use of technology.

Bynum said he understands and appreciates the desire expressed by many Tulsans for more public engagement in the selection process, and he said he is working to finalize such a format.

He is adamant, however, about not turning the hiring process into a popularity contest.

"This is about finding the person, based on everything I have heard — and not just in the last week and a half but in the last three years, really in the last 12 years that I have been at the city — that people want to see from the Police Department and the chief who leads it," Bynum said.