No comment on raises by Chief

In regards to Chief Boatner not making a recommendation to the city commissioners to give the police officers their raises...IT ISN'T HIS PLACE. All negotiations are the responsibility of the union now!!! Chief Boatner is considered a part of the city administration and not a union member and is not responsible for contract negotiations!
Why should he be involved?! The city commissioners and city administrators are not pro union. The chief is involved in deployment, department strategies,staffing and equipment decisions.
Do the officers really think the city administrators are going to bring in a pro union chief? Are you clueless?! What is the city manager? He's about as anti union as you can get. WAKE UP PEOPLE. All the chief would do is weaken his position with the city administrators and commissioners by backing the union

[Lonewolf1]

All the chief would do is weaken his position with the city administrators and commissioners by backing the union

Therein lies the crux of this issue, the Chief being more concerned about his position than the morale, welfare, and general good of the officers under his command. Boatner is and has been indecisive and evasive his entire career. He has always worked behind the scenes and put up a facade of overt concern and friendliness which was never true. His entire focus has been to help his own position and those of his "family".

Something that has been lost at LPD especially on the 3rd floor is that great leadership means that you are there for the officers on the street, sitting behind desks, or manning comm stations. Being a great leader does not mean that your sole purpose in life is to see how high you can get up the food chain, or how many of your "family" members you can get in place. Great leadership is about standing in front of the troops knowing they have your back because first and foremost, they have confidence in your leadership and they trust you.

Boatner did not have to say anything in support of his officers, his silence said a thousand words about how he is more motivated by his own agenda rather than the needs for the agency. He did not have to tell the commission, "Although I am considered management, I believe that my officers deserve this." Instead of standing for himself, for once in his career he could have stood with his officers.

Great leaders throughout history have long recognized the importance of what it takes to be a great leader- the officers under their command. It doesn't matter how many times you go to the FBI Academy or some executive leadership school. You either have it or you don't.

No, Boatner did not have to say anything, he is part of management with the City. He is clearly a minion who will not go against the decisions of his boss Dougie. He is a great example of being a complete "Company man". So who leads LPD? Since when is it written that the COP does not stand with his officers just because he is considered management, where it is written that the COP can let felons wear police uniforms and work in collusion on stifling criminal investigations with the SAO. Where is it written where demographics in the promotion process exclude great potential leaders in favor of being stylish and politically correct.

Show me where it is written that this morally corrup administration can do all these things and I will show you where it is written that truly great leaders will stand with his/her officers and do what is right.

" Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing. "
~ Albert Schweitzer

Boatner had a meeting with some lieutenants, the potential "future of the department," a week or so ago. (If that's the case, we're in trouble for years to come, but that's another post.) The purpose of the meeting was supposed to make Boatner and his minions aware of why we officers are so darned upset. Well, gosh, guess what? It accompished NOTHING! Boatner has been told many times over the last few years what is wrong with the department. How about our "chief" commiting a criminal act by stopping an investigation into sexual misconduct by an Assistant State's Attorney, and then lying/spinning it in an attempt to make it seem unintentional, or like a miunderstanding. How about going against the entire chain of command's recommendation by allowing two felons, who LIED UNDER OATH in an official investigation into their criminal conduct, to keep their jobs. How about going against the chain of command and UPWARD deviating sanctions against a good officer in a simple, minor department vehicle crash. How about not representing the officers in this department in any positive way, shape or form, with regard to the city, or the Ledger, or the public. How about just plain shizzy leadership in general. His legacy was going to be installing good leadership in the Lakeland Police Department? HA! HA HA HA! When was that going to start? The only "legacy" Boatner is going to leave the City of Lakeland and the Lakeland Police Department is a collective sigh of relief from anybody even remotely involved with us.

Look guys, we voted the union in here. It's the UNIONS job to bargin. When we brought in an outside bargining unit, we, in essence, told the Chief to butt out of our affairs in pay. What is the UNION doing for us to get this raise back. It is THEIR job, not the Chiefs. He may have failings in other areas, but this is not one of them. It's the union that should be getting our crappy postings here for sitting on their collective butts drawing our good money while we whine and complain about someone that can't do a darn thing about it.

Excellent point to the above post. Anyone remember Chief Diamond telling us (in not so many words) it really didn't matter to him whether the union came in because it actually made his job a little easier?

[Lonewolf1]

I agree that the COP's hands are tied when it comes to the union representing the officers, however Cliffy Diamond's example of a Chief's responsibilities of taking care of and standing with his officers is a poor illustration. Diamond used his time at LPD to get a COP resume', nothing more. He was a frigging ghost who left the 3 stooges in charge of everything. His comments only gave him an excuse to be out of town job hunting and working for the Police Executive Research Forum in D.C. who helped get him job interviews.

There are countless examples in the LEO community of Chiefs still supporting and being there and even being outspoken with regards to union negotiations. The entire arguement merely amplifies the fact that the current COP and adminstration does not support the officers and would rather remain silent and use the excuse of non-interference than stand up for what is right.

Being a Boatner supporter or hater does not lessen the deleterious impact that he and the other personal agenda driven nitwits have had on a once sterling agency. "No comments" another LPD 3rd floor definition for no guts.

Interesting stuff. I can't recall in recent history a local Chief of Police representing union members by standing before a mayor or city manager or commission "negotiating" cost of living raises for his or her officers. The above post wasn't geared toward proving Diamond's leadership, but he did obtain more non lethal tools for the department and had a list of things he was working on. Who knows at one point he decided to leave, but he did leave us with some good.

Remember when a county commissioner was stopped by LPD for DUI a while back. I think if you look up the article, Boatner was quoted as saying the officer did what he was suppose to be doing and did nothing wrong. Isn't that standing up for your people?

Sometimes we have to look at the cup half full rather than half empty.


The world is full of fools and faint hearts; and yet everyone has courage enough to bear the misfortunes, and wisdom enough to manage the affairs, of his neighbor. ~Benjamin Franklin

Interesting stuff. I can't recall in recent history a local Chief of Police representing union members by standing before a mayor or city manager or commission "negotiating" cost of living raises for his or her officers. The above post wasn't geared toward proving Diamond's leadership, but he did obtain more non lethal tools for the department and had a list of things he was working on. Who knows at what point he decided to leave, but he did leave us with some good.

Remember when a county commissioner was stopped by LPD for DUI a while back? I think if you look up the article, Boatner was quoted as saying the officer did what he was suppose to be doing and did nothing wrong. Isn't that standing up for your people?

Sometimes we have to look at the cup half full rather than half empty.


The world is full of fools and faint hearts; and yet everyone has courage enough to bear the misfortunes, and wisdom enough to manage the affairs, of his neighbor. ~Benjamin Franklin[/quote]

O.K, let's get real here. No one ever asked nor expected the chief to negotiate our contract. This is not the issue. The issue is that the chief should have backed his people (Dept.) when Dougie Boy threatened to cut positions if we did not take a cut in our raises we negotiated in our contract. Furthermore, he should have backed his people when Dougie Boy blatantly and unethically circumvented the Me Too Clause to shaft us out of a COLA. And how about the fact that he did not back his detectives and allow them to complete an investigation, instead he sabotaged it for political favor. And for Christ sake is it too much to ask that he fire individuals whom an internal investigation determined had committed several felonies and lied? Whoever is trying to make this a union issue is off base.

O.K, let's get real here. No one ever asked nor expected the chief to negotiate our contract. This is not the issue. The issue is that the chief should have backed his people (Dept.) when Dougie Boy threatened to cut positions if we did not take a cut in our raises we negotiated in our contract. Furthermore, he should have backed his people when Dougie Boy blatantly and unethically circumvented the Me Too Clause to shaft us out of a COLA. And how about the fact that he did not back his detectives and allow them to complete an investigation, instead he sabotaged it for political favor. And for Christ sake is it too much to ask that he fire individuals whom an internal investigation determined had committed several felonies and lied? Whoever is trying to make this a union issue is off base.

"backed his people when positions were threatened if we didn't take a cut in our raises"-contract issue between union/officers and city
"backed his people when me too clause was changed"-union issue also
The other two allegations probably have many more facts to them than you or I have so I will not comment on them.

Bottom line is what you have listed (regarding raises) as examples are jobs for union reps. A Chief of Police is there to maintain and/or continually improve the efficiency of his or her department through leadership (management) and to fly the plane/steer the ship so to speak. He also serves as a liason to city management and the public.

Don't rely on other people's support for your success, you'll be disappointed every time.

[[i]

You should change your name to Kool Aid Serum. The amount of alloted personnel is NOT a union issue. The union has no ability to negotiate for more or less positions, this is the chief's job. The underlying fabric of law enforcement is Good vs. Evil, Right vs. Wrong. We as police officers are supposed to embody Ethics, Honesty and Professionalism. Dougie Boy flunked all three of those when he circumvented the Me Too Clause. It is not to much to expect the Chief to recognize an injustice or has everything become a gray area for him. Once again I do not want him to negotiate for us. A simple statement of "I do not agree with the way you back doored my officer's" would meet my definition of backing his people. As far as the Arley Smith case goes, talk to a detective involved and get enlightened. Two of them are retired now, I'm sure they will have no problem telling you the real deal. As far as the Wilson case, go read the I.A. file, several people have already. Bottom line, felonies and lying and still employed. there is no way to justifuy that. So please take your Kool Aid and go run through a brick wall.

[quote="Truth serum":su595tr9][[i]

You should change your name to Kool Aid Serum. The amount of alloted personnel is NOT a union issue. The union has no ability to negotiate for more or less positions, this is the chief's job. The underlying fabric of law enforcement is Good vs. Evil, Right vs. Wrong. We as police officers are supposed to embody Ethics, Honesty and Professionalism. Dougie Boy flunked all three of those when he circumvented the Me Too Clause. It is not to much to expect the Chief to recognize an injustice or has everything become a gray area for him. Once again I do not want him to negotiate for us. A simple statement of "I do not agree with the way you back doored my officer's" would meet my definition of backing his people. As far as the Arley Smith case goes, talk to a detective involved and get enlightened. Two of them are retired now, I'm sure they will have no problem telling you the real deal. As far as the Wilson case, go read the I.A. file, several people have already. Bottom line, felonies and lying and still employed. there is no way to justifuy that. So please take your Kool Aid and go run through a brick wall.[/quote:su595tr9]


Shut up, Nick...you messed everything up.

[Lonewolf1]

Guest, you need to chill and quit backstabbing a brother officer. Off Base is right on target. The COP is a spineless, indecisive, and completely worthless COP or man. Him and the rest of the Gang of 4 have totally demoralized and lowered the status of a once great department through their own personal agendas and petty policy making. Great examples of paper pushers who were never really cops not having any clue about what it is like on the street. Making decisions while warming their backsides in a comfy chair and have lost touch with the reality of the streets.

Any real COP or Asst COP would have stood up during the meeting and told Dougie Boy and the rest of the commision that it may not be their place to say so, but what you are doing to the officers of this department is wrong. Real cops would have stood up like real leaders and spoke up and damn the consequences of whether Dougie or the rest of those panty wearing city commissioners liked it or not.

Every single one of the 3rd floor nitwits has their time in and they are just hanging on to the illusion that they may become Chief when the current COP drops dead from a major coronary getting up out of his chair. None of them have anything to lose by being real cops and real leaders and doing the right thing for once in their self centered miserable lives.

It is so pathetic that it has become laughable and what is even more pathetic is people who would bad mouth Nick or any of the many officers that have had to courage to speak in the officers behalf. My guess is that Guest has never worn a badge or if you have you are one of those that sits on the sidelines and spouts off in secret. Makes you as gutless as the current administration.

Funny thing. LPD has been complaining they don't have enough officers on the street since Baca was chief. That is an argument that has been and will be around for a long, long time. To attribute that to Boatner is off base (no pun intended). How did officers get back doored on the COLA raise? Oh, the me too clause. Take your emotions and put them under the table just a second and let's look at this logically. Well it's my understanding this clause entitled officers to get what other city workers got, right? Non union city employees were slated the 2.5 merit and LPD gets 5.0 merit in Feb. City asked LPD to reconsider the already negotiated (and approved) 5.0 which they respectfully declined (and rightly so). So city leaders decided to give that 1.5 (once intended COLA) to the non unionized employees under a "merit" increase and add it to the 2.5. My point is this, who comes out ahead? Do the math. 4.0 vs 5.0. So why complain about being "back doored" with COLA raises? You are still ahead my friend.

Regarding the other issues you have mentioned, if you have seen personally that wrongdoing has occurred there are a few options. (1) Don't concern yourself with it and go out and do your job to the best of your ability or (2) Go where the grass appears greener (and remember if it is, it's usually because there is more ****)

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à Kempis

Funny thing. LPD has been complaining they don't have enough officers on the street since Baca was chief. That is an argument that has been and will be around for a long, long time. To attribute that to Boatner is off base (no pun intended). How did officers get back doored on the COLA raise? Oh, the me too clause. Take your emotions and put them under the table just a second and let's look at this logically. Well it's my understanding this clause entitled officers to get what other city workers got, right? Non union city employees were slated the 2.5 merit and LPD gets 5.0 merit in Feb. City asked LPD to reconsider the already negotiated (and approved) 5.0 which they respectfully declined (and rightly so). So city leaders decided to give that 1.5 (once intended COLA) to the non unionized employees under a "merit" increase and add it to the 2.5. My point is this, who comes out ahead? Do the math. 4.0 vs 5.0. So why complain about being "back doored" with COLA raises? You are still ahead my friend.

Regarding the other issues you have mentioned, if you have seen personally that wrongdoing has occurred there are a few options. (1) Don't concern yourself with it and go out and do your job to the best of your ability or (2) Go where the grass appears greener (and remember if it is, it's usually because there is more ****)

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à Kempis

It is obvious that you are not an officer here since you have the wrong understanding as to what the police officers were supposed to get. If you were an officer you would know that we went a couple years without raises due to the contract negotiation while the general city employees continued to get raises. So please go back to your cubicle wherever you might work and refrain from speaking on issues you know nothing about. In case you did not notice there was recently a vote in which 95% voted that they had NO CONFIDENCE IN CHIEF BOATNER.

I challenge your statement regarding the raise information as being inaccurate. What part was incorrect?

I'm not defending or condoning any leader or person on here, just stating the facts and not complaining about conditions that may or may not exist.

You didn't mention that nearly thirty percent of the department didn't vote regarding the no confidence issue.

Be happy you have a job and paycheck coming in every two weeks. Like I said, if it's that bad, pull the plug and pursue your career interests elsewhere.

"I had no shoes and complained,
until I met a man who had no feet."
Indian Proverb

I challenge your statement regarding the raise information as being inaccurate. What part was incorrect?

I'm not defending or condoning any leader or person on here, just stating the facts and not complaining about conditions that may or may not exist.

You didn't mention that nearly thirty percent of the department didn't vote regarding the no confidence issue.

Be happy you have a job and paycheck coming in every two weeks. Like I said, if it's that bad, pull the plug and pursue your career interests elsewhere.

"I had no shoes and complained,
until I met a man who had no feet."
Indian Proverb

I notice that you did not address the issue of you not being an officer and therefore you have no need to be on here speaking of matters you are ill informed about. As mentioned before if you were an officer here you would know what is innacurate. And should you come back and claim to be an officer I'll go ahead and give my response to that. Go find your way back under Boatner's desk where you belong. If you are not a part of the solution you are part of the problem.

Man, you are stuck on the profession thing. Do you really think someone on the third floor would respond to posts on here? I doubt it. Now back to the raise issue; if anyone has other info different from the numbers posted earlier about the raises please post to correct the record.

I sure hope you are more professional in your job than you are on here. If not, you are no better than the very things you complain about. End of story. Go whine somewhere else, it poisons the morale of good, hard working officers.



“The tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects.”