Police Union Politics

[RecycleMichael]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Tulsa_mayoral_candidates_to_debate_for_police_union/20130402_16_A12_CUTLIN96505

Tulsa's mayoral candidates will make their cases for public safety in a private debate for members of Tulsa's police union and their families Wednesday. "These guys are going to get to ask any questions that are on their mind," said Jessica Caswell, spokeswoman for the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93.

The public and members of the news media will not be allowed to attend the event, which will help the union determine whom it will even- tually endorse for mayor - if anyone, she said. The union has already met with the candidates individually and distributed candidate surveys with questions about local police issues.

"We're trying to check each candidate and see their stance on law enforcement and law enforcement issues," Caswell said. The three candidates who have announced their intention to run as of Monday - Mayor Dewey Bartlett, former Mayor Kathy Taylor and former City Councilor Bill Christiansen - told the Tulsa World that they will attend the forum.

Bartlett, who has proposed extending the city's portion of the 0.167-cent 4 to Fix the County sales tax for streets and increases in public safety manpower, said he will reiterate that plan - and his support for public safety - during the debate. He said the tax extension would allow the city to increase police staffing to levels recommended by consulting company MGT of America in 2008.

Recommendations included hiring 58 officers, creating 40 civilian positions and increasing the time officers spend on proactive policing and administrative duties. "At the end of the day, we have identified a source of funds that is not a tax increase - that is simply a reprioritization and a recognition by us of the public's desire to see more boots on the ground," Bartlett said.

Taylor said Wednesday's debate is about "meeting with the experts on public safety, getting their ideas" and "reminding them of the leadership positions we took on public safety before." She noted that her administration commissioned the MGT of America study and that the police force had more officers during her term than it does now - 883 filled positions in July 2009 versus 853 this January, according to a recent city report. She also said she has a strong record of securing public safety grants and involving the police union in city decisions.

Christiansen said his first priority as mayor would be to "go department to department to look for cost-saving measures so that we can as soon as possible have another police academy." He added that "my basic record over the years is to always ... maximize public safety coverage for the citizens."

A "good, trusting" relationship with the police union would be another top priority of his administration, he said.

Both Taylor and Christiansen oppose Bartlett's 4 to Fix tax-extension plan, arguing that manpower increases can be funded with the city's existing operating budget.


The police union has not endorsed an incumbent Mayor (or past mayor) for re-election in my lifetime and I am in my mid-fifties.

[patric]

I guarantee that they will endorse Bill Christiansen.
Anyone willing to bet me?

I think you are right, and that Bartlett and Taylor are just there to get beat up by the FOP.

[custosnox]

I had someone from Taylor's campaign call me tonight and wanted to know any concerns I had facing the City of Tulsa.  One of the things I asked is given the amount of corruption that has been in the Tulsa Police Department in the past, as shown by the grand jury indictments in recent years, how does she plan on approaching issues of corruption that is still present today?  They are supposed to have someone higher up in the chain call me back for answers on that one.  Should be interesting to see what they say.

[Red Arrow]

I had someone from Taylor's campaign call me tonight and wanted to know any concerns I had facing the City of Tulsa.  One of the things I asked is given the amount of corruption that has been in the Tulsa Police Department in the past, as shown by the grand jury indictments in recent years, how does she plan on approaching issues of corruption that is still present today?  They are supposed to have someone higher up in the chain call me back for answers on that one.  Should be interesting to see what they say.

Just curious.  Were you just a phone number to the caller or did they know they were calling you and who you are?

[davideinstein]

Are they getting paid overtime for this?

[patric]

"I reject the notion that we need to keep jacking up police and fire academies over and over again in order to pursue public safety," he said.
"I would much rather be looking at ways to hold our existing departments accountable for the work that they do and the hours they spend and the way they spend their time."
http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Mayor_Dewey_Bartletts_budget_shorts_police_staffing/20130503_16_A11_CUTLIN685837


Go Blake!
Councilor Ewing was responding to mayoral candidates claims that we arent throwing enough money at public safety.  The Whirled story continues:

MGT of America Inc., which was contracted by the city to review the Police Department's staffing levels, recommended in 2008 that the department have 448 officers dedicated to patrol duties.
Jordan told the council in January that the city had 305 patrol officers that month.

However, a report presented to the council later in January showed that increases in police funding had exceeded inflation by 2.4 percent in the past decade even though the department lost 48 positions during that span.
Officials have pointed to increasing salaries and overtime costs.

It seems every time we have an academy, we end up with less officers on the street.
Is attrition outpacing leadership's forecasts, or are we overstocking specialty squads once fresh fish arrive?

[Gaspar]

Wish we could clone Blake for some of the other districts.

[patric]

Wish we could clone Blake for some of the other districts.

Mayor says Police use-of-force incidents need outside scrutiny, Union says piss off.


Saying it is time to give police officers the tools they need to help establish trust with the community they serve, Mayor G.T. Bynum announced Wednesday that he intends to create an Office of the Independent Monitor.
"Internal Affairs investigations are conducted confidentially, and citizens don't have a means of verifying results," Bynum said. "I think we owe it to the citizens and to the officers to do better."

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/police-use-of-force-incidents-need-outside-scrutiny-mayor-says/article_652210a1-df63-5ed1-9866-2db2d24dd5df.html

https://www.tulsaworld.com/fop-opposition-letter/pdf_a216c4cd-d1c8-5661-9752-bb1708139762.html

https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/office-of-the-independent-monitor.html

Police union to Bynum: Negotiate with FOP to create independent monitor or face lawsuit
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/police-union-to-bynum-negotiate-with-fop-to-create-independent/article_dabcc070-65f2-5e86-a3d7-96a87eed2127.html

Related:  FOP opts out of actions considering police oversight (2001)
https://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/fop-opts-out-of-actions-considering-police-oversight/article_f1b281a0-15b0-585b-bc01-d7945eed3599.html

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tpd-union-using-incident-involving-judge-to-smear-councilor-s/article_52221d8c-3889-507d-953a-8db091d2a037.html

Councilor says officers frustrated with FOP's response to mayor's oversight proposal
"They say, 'We are tired of the FOP getting political and delving into this'"
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/councilor-says-officers-frustrated-with-fop-s-response-to-mayor/article_d0a421c0-37f6-5eea-8fa2-6851c35b8838.html

[patric]

How Tulsa's police union tries to win elections and influence people

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/how-tulsas-police-union-tries-to-win-elections-and-influence-people/article_1ac034c0-34c8-11eb-bda1-9f3c691e8857.html

[dbacksfan 2.0]

How Tulsa's police union tries to win elections and influence people

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/how-tulsas-police-union-tries-to-win-elections-and-influence-people/article_1ac034c0-34c8-11eb-bda1-9f3c691e8857.html

[patric]

Police unions in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Seattle; and Syracuse, New York, have pushed back against vaccination requirements, as has the union
representing state police in Massachusetts.
Reluctance among officers — front-line workers whose jobs often involve extensive community contact — to get vaccinated has raised public health concerns. An outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant in a police force could also pose a risk to public safety.

"The delta variant is not like previous Covid lineages, and unvaccinated people in their 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s — meaning the ages that people are in law enforcement — are going into hospitals," said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and a co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.
According to data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit in Washington that tracks law enforcement  deaths, Covid-19 killed more officers in 2020 than gun violence, car accidents and all other causes combined.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hell-no-some-police-officers-their-unions-oppose-vaccination-mandates-n1277608