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 By Tim Vanderpool
NERO FIDDLED AWAY, they say, while Rome erupted in flames.
You betcha, at least if an August 4 study session lends any clue. That was the day Councilman Jerry Anderson called for a review of the increasingly troubled department--a request answered by equivocation, hyperbole and plain old silence.
According to TPD insiders, the department is in the throes of a paralyzing split. Rank-and-file cops are roundly disgusted with Smith for abandoning their pay-raise quest in May, and for his handling of the Danaher DUI case, which at best can be called a muddled mess, at worst a profound breach of public trust. Then came the apparent tit-for-tat dismissal of Kevin Gilmartin's highly-respected counseling agency. The Gilmartin firm had supplied psychological services to TPD for five years. But in June Smith refused to renew their contract, prompting a written protest from Gilmartin, who claimed the dismissal arose from his testimony supporting five TPD officers. The cops had been demoted from the police air-support group after raising complaints over its management. Councilman Anderson said this slew of events prompted his idea for a thorough department review. He also says he expected more help from fellow council members than he received, particularly from José Ibarra and Steve Leal. But Ibarra--who's not exactly known for rhetorical reticence--uttered nary a peep on the issue. Councilwoman Janet Marcus followed suit. Mayor George Miller simply questioned Anderson's motives, while Fred Ronstadt and Shirley Scott just showered TPD in resplendent praise. What all this says about the courage of Tucson's City Council could be uttered in two syllables under one's breath. To wit: Cowards. "There were a number of reasons why I asked for the (police department) to be discussed," Anderson said at the August meeting, "both from kind of a big-picture point of view, as well as reaction to some of the most recent incidents that have occurred in our community. "I don't think I need to go over those specifically, but at least to say that, from a big picture...we rely on our police officers a great deal to keep our neighborhoods safe, to keep our businesses safe." At the same time, he said lesser infractions--from loitering to prostitution--are often ignored, particularly in the crime-plagued Oracle/Grant Road area he represents. Anderson called for a priorities-reshuffling, and for a thorough departmental examination "just be sure our police department is being managed in the best way possible... "A review can also look at specific issues," he continued, "particularly the ones that have come up most recently, to see if they have been reviewed in best way, (and how they) can be prevented from happening in the future." The action could be unbiased, he said, and "really allow the community to have confidence that we handled some extremely tough situations in the best way possible....There needs to be something done." This slightly rambling monologue brought a razor-sharp rebuke from Mayor Miller, who glared at Anderson in irritation, and asked whether he was just hankering to rehash the Danaher scandal. "Do you feel that that, and those officers that were related to that, that that was not a thorough investigation? Is that what you're saying?" Anderson met the Mayor's cantankerous gaze. "I certainly don't want to dwell on specifics," he replied, "but that situation was certainly an eye-opener to me that we had what seemed to be some very loyal employees of the police department that have served this community, and had served it well, all of a sudden were the bad guys..." Even though the investigation was handled in "a fairly expedient manner," Anderson said, "I'm not sure that led to a strong feeling in our community that we weren't just perhaps sweeping it under the rug." Miller wouldn't be put off. "The reason I was asking, Jerry," he said, "is unless you're asking this body for specific areas, it's pretty hard say why we should have an audit." As an example Miller picked out the psychologist incident, saying Kevin Gilmartin ultimately showed his stuff by declining to go before an independent hearing officer. As for Danaher, Miller said City Manager Luis Gutierrez had already thoroughly reviewed the case, and the responsible cops were demoted and fined. "Is it you're feeling that wasn't done properly?" Miller asked Anderson. "I mean, is that why you're asking for an audit?" "If I was entirely satisfied, George, I wouldn't have brought it up," Anderson responded. "I think it's a tough one. And I think a lot of times there are issues that come up that we have to take a stand on that are going to take us out of our comfort level a little bit." Unfortunately, comfort levels seemed to be thematic for the remainder of the discussion. Leal thanked Anderson for bringing up "a complicated issue." But Leal said a review could "muddy the waters" between the Council and TPD. "It's one thing for us to sort of monitor the department to the extent that that's our responsibility, and another thing to go about that in a way that has the effect of micro-managing the department." For TPD to "see us pursuing an audit of the department over this isolated incident or that one," he continued, "I think it's going to start to make them gun-shy, and put pressure on them that's going to create a climate that in the end is going to impair their judgment." Leal noted "disagreements in the department over how some things were handled. To some extent that's become some temporary factions," he said. "Hopefully that will dissipate over time." He added that critics with "various agendas" could use an audit "as grist for the mill." The idea was also ill-timed, Leal argued, since TPD was in the midst of a changeover to community policing. "They're sort of in this metamorphosis period. And so to audit them in the midst of that I think runs the risk of...you'll probably find something, but is what you've found an inherent statement of the problems, or is what you have found a function of this metamorphosis of them becoming more of a vehicle to do community policing?" Leal then called for a vague "certification process," wherein outside companies could be brought in to assess the department, and certify that it was running up to par. He called it a "very different creature than an audit," though such differences remain unclear. At that point Janet Marcus nodded and smiled slightly, thereby concluding her contribution. Shirley Scott then cleared her throat to announce that existing methods for handling TPD problems were just hunky-dory. "I couldn't agree with you more," she told Leal. "I think this is a very important issue, but we have mechanisms in place that have followed a very, very clearly outlined process. The process was followed, and carefully reviewed."
"So I do believe there are all kinds of alternatives available which would make it clear that we really do want access to these matters, as they come up, available through different doors." Proof of such efficacy lay in "draconian action" taken in the Danaher case, she said. "So I have to concur (with Leal) that this is, I think, to take heart..." Fred Ronstadt completed his concurrent reverie, after first citing TPD's external problems, from lack of manpower and resources to proper community support. "I would just like to say, for the record, that my dealing with police officers has been nothing but a demonstration of the highest integrity that I think any law-enforcement agency could ever offer," he said. "I know that the internal checks and balances are very important to the officers on the street. They know that they need to preserve at all costs the integrity of the department. Now I'd just state without reservation that I fully support our police officers. I think they're doing one hell of a job in the face of a lot of crap that they're given on a daily basis...I think we need to move forward. "The issues will be resolved," Ronstadt gushed. "They're currently being looked at, they're always being looked at. Again, our police department is the finest, in my opinion, in the country."
BY THE END of August, Doug Smith had resigned as chief of that exemplary department, saying he wanted "the chance to do something different." That chance will cost him dearly, in light of the roughly $35,000 pay cut he'll swallow to head a Tucson-based federal drug-enforcement agency. Such financial sacrifice speaks volumes about whether Smith was feeling the heat of a department in disarray, though he roundly denies it. In a parting shot, he also referred to Anderson's review proposal as blatant "political opportunism." But that raises two questions: What opportunity, and created by whom? For his part, Miller--who also raised a few hackles over his handling of the Danaher matter--has remained noticeably neutral on the chief's departure. Meanwhile, according to TPD insiders, the police department is coming apart at the seams. It remains bitterly divided between upper-echelon officers who supported Smith, and rank-and-file cops still furious over his failure to fight for their proposed pay hike. They say the Chief was busier kissing up to City Manager Gutierrez than tending to his own troubled flock. For the record, only Anderson and Ronstadt voted for the 7.5 to 10 percent salary boost. Instead, cops got the same 4.5 to 7 percent raises given to other city employees. "The pay raise was a big deal," says one source. "You don't have to be an economist to understand that." As for the Danaher case, "there were some bad decisions made," the source says. Another unpopular decision was booting longtime counselor Gilmartin, who was reportedly very well liked by officers. In the aftermath, rumors are pouring out of TPD like corn through a blue goose. Some allege that more than 100 cops are actively job-hunting outside of Tucson, while others claim there's been an unofficial response-time slow down on the city's eastside to protest a severe manpower shortage. Speculation about Smith's replacement has added further fuel. Many consider the top contender, Assistant Chief Richard Miranda, as a mixed bag. This attitude apparently goes back to a deep distrust of the department's upper-management by the street cops. But department spokesman Lt. Bill Richards disputes the allegations, saying the attrition rate is no greater than normal, and that TPD has no trouble finding recruits, with up to 25 newcomers in the wings. He blames the rumors on a Tucson Police Officers Association newsletter detailing job opportunities elsewhere. Richard Anemone, association president, didn't return phone calls seeking comment. As for a response-time slow down, Richards says he conducted an informal poll among dispatchers and none of them had heard of it, "Though at this time I don't have anything hard to back that up." Concerning overall morale, Richards calls it a "fluid thing." He says internal complaints reflect more about how Smith's tenure affected individual officers than how well he ran the department. "The Chief is not leaving under fire," Richards says. "This opportunity came up, and it's my understanding that the feds recruited him." Richards adds that Smith's departure "came as a complete shock to the command staff." Still, the complaints linger, and they just keep coming. But have such grumblings, or Smith's abrupt resignation, forced some City Council members to revise their take on TPD? Miller and Ibarra didn't return several phone calls seeking comment. Shirley Scott is sticking to her guns. "I know that, with regard to the set-up of looking at what we need to do when complaints arise, there are not that many cities in the country that have accessibility to police matters from the citizen's side," she says, again referring to the Citizens Review Board and the independent auditor. "Both of those avenues are open to anybody. And if there were fire alarms going off in people's minds, it seems to me that they had avenues to walk down and throw that into the mix. If there's nothing coming through the pipeline, then stuffing it with something that isn't there is inappropriate." But is systemic trouble within the department supposed to flow through that same pipeline? Scott didn't offer specifics, other than saying, "In any department where you have more than two people, you're going to have the possibility for discussion and disagreement up and down the line about certain matters." Asked whether she'd actually chatted with any cops about TPD turmoil, Scott replied that, no, she hadn't. All her information about problems "is hearsay, and I don't want to comment on that." On the other hand, Fred Ronstadt has been talking to cops. Former cops, that is, in the form of his cousin and onetime TPD Chief Peter Ronstadt. And it sounds like Peter told him to just hang tight. "What I've been telling people is--and I hate to compare kids to each other--that between my cousin and Doug, they had radically different management styles," Fred Ronstadt says. "Pete was more of a cop's cop, and Doug's more of a high-level administrator kind of person. I don't think people on the force appreciated Doug's kind of style. "I think with any police department you're looking at a very high-visibility group, and to say there are no problems is ludicrous. Of course there are problems, internal problems, personnel problems that you have to deal with on a daily basis. But as far as critical problems that can't be overcome with some time and some work..." Ronstadt says he passed on advice from Peter to Doug, and that the current chief surprised him by "responding with a great deal of interest." He didn't mention whether Pete relayed the story about how George Miller tried to sack him in the '80s, back when Pete was just an assistant chief, and Miller was merely a councilman. At the same time, Councilman Ronstadt has tossed in another wrench by suggesting the city consider consolidating public safety services with the county, thereby creating a multi-jurisdictional law-enforcement octopus. Judging from the response of County Manager Chuck Huckleberry, that notion isn't quite basking in popularity. Finally, of everyone contacted by The Weekly, Jerry Anderson alone says he isn't reeling with shock over Smith's departure. "I wasn't real surprised, given what's been going on," he says. "There's been a lot of pressure on him" Regardless of support--or lack of it--from fellow Council members, Anderson also plans to keep up the heat for a review. "I haven't let it go," he says. "And perhaps this is a good time to reconsider it. I still feel strongly that it would benefit the community and the department to look at how the department is being run, how programs are being implemented. With a new person coming in, they could have that information in front of them to move forward with. "Obviously there are some on the Council who think things are just fine," he says. "I just happen to disagree. You can always put whatever spin on Doug's resignation you want, whether you go along with 'Well, it's just a step in his professional career, and doesn't reflect the status of the police department one way or another.'
"But to me it does at least signal that there are perhaps
issues to be dealt with."
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Less than a month later, those same languid city officials expressed
profound shock at Police Chief Doug Smith's pending departure.
But the reasons behind his abdication are not surprising--at least
to those who bothered to peek beneath the department's fragile
facade of unity.
She was referring to the Citizens Police Advisory Review Board,
and to Independent Police Auditor Liana Perez, both appointed
last year to field complaints against the department. "This
is a group of citizens, had they been alarmed, they would have
signaled us, I believe, and come forward and indicated a strong
desire," Scott said. "I believe they have come to their
own conclusions...and they have done an outstanding job.
