10-07-2010, 07:58 PM
E-mail scandal raises doubt about police chief's credibility
THE ISSUE: Police chief sends offensive e-mails.
Broward County October 7, 2010
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It happened in Wilton Manors this time, but public and private entities continue to grapple with the embarrassment and erosion of credibility that follow when people in positions of authority use poor judgment — as when the city's police chief recently forwarded offensive and tasteless e-mails.
So, the lesson in the case of suspended Wilton Manors Police Chief Richard Perez must be heeded far beyond this small Broward County municipality.
City Manager Joseph Gallegos suspended Perez on Sept. 17 because the chief had sent racist, and worse, e-mails from his account at work. Gallegos said Perez had admitted the offenses and apologized. So, the chief is spending a 30-day unpaid suspension being trained, at age 58, on how to be a smarter and more astute manager. Some have demanded that he be fired, and his actions would have justified it.
Even if Perez did not initiate the e-mails — he reportedly passed along chain mail — it is beyond baffling how any law enforcement officer, let alone a police chief, could have anything to do with, for example, an e-mail expressing disappointment that a heinous crime — assassination — had not been committed against the president of the United States.
Post that on your Facebook page and see how quickly you get a call from the Secret Service.
There's a lesson here for all public officials in South Florida: Don't send or forward private e-mails from your public account — and if you do, make sure they show you to be, even in private, a person of high moral character and worthy of the public's respect.
Perez has spoken publicly about his actions only once and only briefly, in a local TV interview that raised more questions than it answered. The chief owes the public, and his employers, much more than that.
Wilton Manors officials ought to think hard about whether Perez is the right man to lead the police force. The city should determine whether the chief still has the respect of rank-and-file officers and city residents. Without that, and without a sincere public apology and a convincing explanation of his actions, Perez may simply be the wrong man.
BOTTOM LINE: Will public officials never learn?
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
THE ISSUE: Police chief sends offensive e-mails.
Broward County October 7, 2010
E-mail Print Share Text Size fl-perez-wilton-manors-editorial-td-20101007
It happened in Wilton Manors this time, but public and private entities continue to grapple with the embarrassment and erosion of credibility that follow when people in positions of authority use poor judgment — as when the city's police chief recently forwarded offensive and tasteless e-mails.
So, the lesson in the case of suspended Wilton Manors Police Chief Richard Perez must be heeded far beyond this small Broward County municipality.
City Manager Joseph Gallegos suspended Perez on Sept. 17 because the chief had sent racist, and worse, e-mails from his account at work. Gallegos said Perez had admitted the offenses and apologized. So, the chief is spending a 30-day unpaid suspension being trained, at age 58, on how to be a smarter and more astute manager. Some have demanded that he be fired, and his actions would have justified it.
Even if Perez did not initiate the e-mails — he reportedly passed along chain mail — it is beyond baffling how any law enforcement officer, let alone a police chief, could have anything to do with, for example, an e-mail expressing disappointment that a heinous crime — assassination — had not been committed against the president of the United States.
Post that on your Facebook page and see how quickly you get a call from the Secret Service.
There's a lesson here for all public officials in South Florida: Don't send or forward private e-mails from your public account — and if you do, make sure they show you to be, even in private, a person of high moral character and worthy of the public's respect.
Perez has spoken publicly about his actions only once and only briefly, in a local TV interview that raised more questions than it answered. The chief owes the public, and his employers, much more than that.
Wilton Manors officials ought to think hard about whether Perez is the right man to lead the police force. The city should determine whether the chief still has the respect of rank-and-file officers and city residents. Without that, and without a sincere public apology and a convincing explanation of his actions, Perez may simply be the wrong man.
BOTTOM LINE: Will public officials never learn?
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel