Presidents Message
Chesterfield Police Officers Association
PO Box 225 Chesterfield, Missouri 63006 Phone: 314-667-8401
PO Box 225 Chesterfield, Missouri 63006 Phone: 314-667-8401
For the last several months I have grappled with the idea of what to write about in my next message. I went round
and round with many ideas but then after the recent hearing in St Louis County Circuit Court it became clear. Time
to define:
Magic: the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand
Illusion: a misleading image presented to the vision (2) : something that deceives or misleads intellectually b (1) :
perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature
Politics: 1 a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing
governmental policy c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
Ever seen a magic show, captivating isn’t it? The question is always the same, how is it done? Any magician will not
reveal the secret of the magic but will confirm that it is all an ILLUSION. Let me share my perspective on why this
matters.
As a young police officer in the urban core, those of us working on the street observed a large increase in gang
members and related activity. The media was picking up on it as well. The Chief of Police at that time denied that
the City had any gangs and did not have any gang related issues or crime. We all knew better. The media reported
to the people that those in charge assured their safety and well being. Then one day that Chief left and the new
Chief acknowledged that there were gang problems. By this time the gangs and their related activity were rooted
into the neighborhoods of the City and grew into what is currently known.
It reminds me of not reporting any crime to the people of a city, leading them to believe that there is no crime in their
city. Out of sight, out of mind, right? If crime is not known then it doesn’t exist, right? Chesterfield doesn’t have a
serious crime problem and all the people want is traffic enforcement in their neighborhoods. When was the last time
that anyone heard a crime report to the City Council? When was the last time that the City Council asked for a crime
report? When was the last time a crime report was listed in a local news paper? What is a serious crime problem? I
know that in my neighborhood any crime is a serious problem. Is this an illusion, smoke and mirrors? Is it really that
the people only want traffic enforcement or is it that it is easier to grade on performance than none quantitative work
such crime prevention and neighborhood interaction
People all too often are led blindly to the slaughter for the sake of political being. Politics is about the power and
while it is said that it is for the sake of the people, the majority of the people are silent which leaves politicos in
charge of making all the decisions. In reality money controls politics and the people with the money do the talking.
Look at how much money it takes to win an office to any large office, President, Governor, Congress or US Senate.
A poor person can not make it on their views and beliefs. It takes money and lots of it provided by the wealthy and
big corporate interests. Money talks, bullshit walks! Money and special interest controls politics not the will of the
silent majority. Politicians for the most part do the will of the money and then lead the public where they want them to
be. If a politician loses his money then his future is lost for election to political offices.
At the recent hearing in St Louis County Circuit Court on collective bargaining for police officers in Chesterfield, all
the witnesses that testified on behalf of Chesterfield were elected politicians or those hired directly by the elected
officials. Now by City law all Chesterfield employees are prohibited from being involved in Chesterfield politics. What
that means is that the City administration is the only people allowed to interact with the powers of the City
government. They keep that political power safely guarded in their shirt pocket and do not share it with anyone.
The very nature is hypocritical in that the hired administrators by their very nature are allowed to engage in politics,
but those that are hired by the administrators are not. This creates two distinct types of employees and means that
all people are not created equal. In my fifty-two years of life experience I have learned that government rules by the
“we make the rules, we break the rules” doctrine. You could also call it the “we’re the government, make us” doctrine.
How about an open door policy or allowing employees the empowerment to lead or share ideas? Several years back
the police department solicited ideas for a new patch design. I researched ideas that included a coat of arms with
meaning to the people and the land we all formed. I had an artist friend help design the patch with me. I then
submitted the design along with an explanation of the design and the coat of arms. Now it was just an idea which
gave credit of power to the people. I was proud of the design and provided a copy to a city administrator for review.
After that I was called into another ranking administrator’s office and counseled on my behavior. I was told that I
would never do that again. I was also told that a great deal of money was spent on the current design of a tree on
two hills.
Big deal right! Well I never did that again. Who wants to get in trouble? I didn’t, I wanted to be on the good side
and was trying to advance my career with the City. So much for creative thinking, sharing ideas and open doors!
I am just going to cut to the chase, City employees are expected to do as they are told and if they don’t like it then
they need to leave. I was told as much when I was hired. Employees are a disposable resource and can be
replaced with a younger and less experienced person at a fraction of the cost thus saving the City money.
Experience is not desired on the lower levels of city workers. This is shown with no lateral entry offered for
experience and no education incentive is offered. A college grad is paid the same as a high school GED. Even if
you have twenty-five years of specialty training and education you get start out at the same level as the first time
employee just entering the work force. Maintain the management ranks and keep the underlings rotating for cost
effectiveness.
Back to court, an effort was made to lead the court to believe that the City is a very open place. Anyone can walk in
any open door and express any concern, the Mayor, the Council, the City Administrator, the Chief, etc, etc. Have
you ever been labeled as a whistle blower? Does anyone know a single whistle blower that has been a success? In
the ten years that I have worked for the City I know of no City politicians that has spent a day with the labor force or
even asked their employees how things are, or what can be done to help. The only thing that the powers to be hear
is what is fed to them through layer upon layer of information that is filtered through each level of management on
the way up the ladder. Ever heard of a manager that tells the powers to be that things are not okay and the common
folk are unhappy?
In Circuit Court the City said that everything is perfect and no problems exist and that everyone is happy because no
one has complained. Also the City had FOUR attorneys present to tell the judge that the Missouri Supreme Court
has no right to give police officers a right to bargain with their employer and that the a law designed by the State
Legislature out trumps the Missouri Constitution and the Supreme Court.
While I can not say positively what I will discuss in my next article, I am leaning towards abuse of power, the political
coincidence, political coercion and perception. Perception goes hand and hand with illusion. It’s not what is real but
rather what people think is real. Oh and if these issues do not exist, I wonder why we need to read books such as
“Swimming with Sharks” in order to compete in today’s world. I know that you have heard such phrases as, “it’s a
dog eat dog world” or “only the strong survive”.
Dear elected Chesterfield leaders, if you want to know what it is really like on the bottom then you need to go to the
bottom.
and round with many ideas but then after the recent hearing in St Louis County Circuit Court it became clear. Time
to define:
Magic: the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand
Illusion: a misleading image presented to the vision (2) : something that deceives or misleads intellectually b (1) :
perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature
Politics: 1 a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing
governmental policy c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
Ever seen a magic show, captivating isn’t it? The question is always the same, how is it done? Any magician will not
reveal the secret of the magic but will confirm that it is all an ILLUSION. Let me share my perspective on why this
matters.
As a young police officer in the urban core, those of us working on the street observed a large increase in gang
members and related activity. The media was picking up on it as well. The Chief of Police at that time denied that
the City had any gangs and did not have any gang related issues or crime. We all knew better. The media reported
to the people that those in charge assured their safety and well being. Then one day that Chief left and the new
Chief acknowledged that there were gang problems. By this time the gangs and their related activity were rooted
into the neighborhoods of the City and grew into what is currently known.
It reminds me of not reporting any crime to the people of a city, leading them to believe that there is no crime in their
city. Out of sight, out of mind, right? If crime is not known then it doesn’t exist, right? Chesterfield doesn’t have a
serious crime problem and all the people want is traffic enforcement in their neighborhoods. When was the last time
that anyone heard a crime report to the City Council? When was the last time that the City Council asked for a crime
report? When was the last time a crime report was listed in a local news paper? What is a serious crime problem? I
know that in my neighborhood any crime is a serious problem. Is this an illusion, smoke and mirrors? Is it really that
the people only want traffic enforcement or is it that it is easier to grade on performance than none quantitative work
such crime prevention and neighborhood interaction
People all too often are led blindly to the slaughter for the sake of political being. Politics is about the power and
while it is said that it is for the sake of the people, the majority of the people are silent which leaves politicos in
charge of making all the decisions. In reality money controls politics and the people with the money do the talking.
Look at how much money it takes to win an office to any large office, President, Governor, Congress or US Senate.
A poor person can not make it on their views and beliefs. It takes money and lots of it provided by the wealthy and
big corporate interests. Money talks, bullshit walks! Money and special interest controls politics not the will of the
silent majority. Politicians for the most part do the will of the money and then lead the public where they want them to
be. If a politician loses his money then his future is lost for election to political offices.
At the recent hearing in St Louis County Circuit Court on collective bargaining for police officers in Chesterfield, all
the witnesses that testified on behalf of Chesterfield were elected politicians or those hired directly by the elected
officials. Now by City law all Chesterfield employees are prohibited from being involved in Chesterfield politics. What
that means is that the City administration is the only people allowed to interact with the powers of the City
government. They keep that political power safely guarded in their shirt pocket and do not share it with anyone.
The very nature is hypocritical in that the hired administrators by their very nature are allowed to engage in politics,
but those that are hired by the administrators are not. This creates two distinct types of employees and means that
all people are not created equal. In my fifty-two years of life experience I have learned that government rules by the
“we make the rules, we break the rules” doctrine. You could also call it the “we’re the government, make us” doctrine.
How about an open door policy or allowing employees the empowerment to lead or share ideas? Several years back
the police department solicited ideas for a new patch design. I researched ideas that included a coat of arms with
meaning to the people and the land we all formed. I had an artist friend help design the patch with me. I then
submitted the design along with an explanation of the design and the coat of arms. Now it was just an idea which
gave credit of power to the people. I was proud of the design and provided a copy to a city administrator for review.
After that I was called into another ranking administrator’s office and counseled on my behavior. I was told that I
would never do that again. I was also told that a great deal of money was spent on the current design of a tree on
two hills.
Big deal right! Well I never did that again. Who wants to get in trouble? I didn’t, I wanted to be on the good side
and was trying to advance my career with the City. So much for creative thinking, sharing ideas and open doors!
I am just going to cut to the chase, City employees are expected to do as they are told and if they don’t like it then
they need to leave. I was told as much when I was hired. Employees are a disposable resource and can be
replaced with a younger and less experienced person at a fraction of the cost thus saving the City money.
Experience is not desired on the lower levels of city workers. This is shown with no lateral entry offered for
experience and no education incentive is offered. A college grad is paid the same as a high school GED. Even if
you have twenty-five years of specialty training and education you get start out at the same level as the first time
employee just entering the work force. Maintain the management ranks and keep the underlings rotating for cost
effectiveness.
Back to court, an effort was made to lead the court to believe that the City is a very open place. Anyone can walk in
any open door and express any concern, the Mayor, the Council, the City Administrator, the Chief, etc, etc. Have
you ever been labeled as a whistle blower? Does anyone know a single whistle blower that has been a success? In
the ten years that I have worked for the City I know of no City politicians that has spent a day with the labor force or
even asked their employees how things are, or what can be done to help. The only thing that the powers to be hear
is what is fed to them through layer upon layer of information that is filtered through each level of management on
the way up the ladder. Ever heard of a manager that tells the powers to be that things are not okay and the common
folk are unhappy?
In Circuit Court the City said that everything is perfect and no problems exist and that everyone is happy because no
one has complained. Also the City had FOUR attorneys present to tell the judge that the Missouri Supreme Court
has no right to give police officers a right to bargain with their employer and that the a law designed by the State
Legislature out trumps the Missouri Constitution and the Supreme Court.
While I can not say positively what I will discuss in my next article, I am leaning towards abuse of power, the political
coincidence, political coercion and perception. Perception goes hand and hand with illusion. It’s not what is real but
rather what people think is real. Oh and if these issues do not exist, I wonder why we need to read books such as
“Swimming with Sharks” in order to compete in today’s world. I know that you have heard such phrases as, “it’s a
dog eat dog world” or “only the strong survive”.
Dear elected Chesterfield leaders, if you want to know what it is really like on the bottom then you need to go to the
bottom.
| PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FEBRUARY 2010 |