No Confidence Vote

[Lonewolf1]

The union representing New York City police officers cast a vote of no-confidence in Police Commissioner Howard Safir yesterday, questioning many of his actions in recent months and saying that officers are under tremendous pressure to make arrests and issue summonses.

James Savage, the president of the union, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said that the Giuliani administration's zero-tolerance approach to crimes, particularly quality-of-life offenses, had outlived its usefulness now that crime had decreased. Further, Mr. Savage, who is facing a hotly contested election campaign to keep the union's presidency, said that officers were being pressured to make arrests and issue summonses in every incident, which he said had harmed the public's perception of police officers.

BRIDGEPORT — Nearly half the Bridgeport Police Union Local 1159 has voted "no confidence" in Chief Bryan T. Norwood and Mayor Bill Finch.
The ballots, tallied Monday night, show 187 police officers voted no confidence in the administration while 27 voted against the no-confidence motion. Ballots were mailed to the union members two weeks ago.

The vote is symbolic and has no practical impact on the chief, who is chosen by the mayor. Norwood was sworn in April 2006, and has a five-year contract.

But the vote indicates deep discontent with the ranks of city police, said Officer Frank Cuccaro, the union president.

St. Louis police vote no confidence in chief

Published Saturday, September 29, 2007

"Miami's police union, fed up with Miami Police Chief John Timoney, on Wednesday took the rare step of scheduling a vote on whether to declare a lack of confidence in his leadership.

The more than 900 officers who make up the union will decide Sept. 4 whether they want to formally request Timoney's ouster by declaring a vote of ''no confidence'' in both him and his deputy chief, Frank Fernandez.

Armando Aguilar, the president of Miami's Fraternal Order of Police, said in his 26 years with the force he has never seen such a vote happen before."

Looks like it is time for LPD members to step up and tell their union reps it is time for a vote of No Confidence, talking is certainly not changing anything, and it might just send a message to city hall.

Why is it every time we ask for a vote of no-confidence the union side steps and says it will do no good? Are we children who don't know what we want? Does the union work for us, or for what they want to do, telling us what is good for us? Since we are trying to get attention drawn to the buffoonery of staff one, what better idea is there? What ideas have the union come up with?

[Lonewolf1]

I can tell you for sure what it will do.

1. Cast a great deal of media attention on the police department requiring the adminstration to respond and run around like cats covering up their litter box

2. Cast a great deal of media attention on City Hall and require them to ask the department adminstration, "What the hell, are you doing over there?"

3. It will have an impact on the citizens of the city and they will start asking questions about what is going on with its police department, especially the more vocal sections of the community.

4. The PBA will gain great respect and support from its members because it had the guts to stand up for them and address a long term and very serious leadership issue at LPD.

The bottom line is that it is better to do something than to sit and take the pathetic and corrupt leadership. Who knows, it could even push some of the dead wood at the top out the door.

lonewolf, no one care's until their in the crosshair's. util that happen's it's stick your head in the sand time at this place. because we all know it can never happen to us. although i can think of several who used to stand with us and have our back's that are gone and forgotten,if we forget them it help's us justify the, ''not me,'' mentality. remember that, remember them!

[Lonewolf1]

You would be surprised about how many care. How many have the guts to stand up and say enough is enough is quite another story. I never believed in keeping my mouth shut when those nitwits on the 3rd floor pulled their stunts and was often in the crosshairs. You choose either to deal with it and make sure you have eyes in the back of your head or you "bury your head in the sand". All it takes if for you or anyone to get with the Union reps and get this thing going. If they won't do it, go to the regional or national office and start raising hell.

I may be retired, but I will tell any one of those idiots right to their face how badly they have helped to screw up one of the premier agencies in Florida and even the country. Which is probably the main reason I won't go to the department sponsored retirees luncheons each year, because I know I wouldn't be able to keep from biatch slappin the whole bunch.

I know there is a lot of unjustified complaining and whining on this board about this and that, but when I hear comments from ranking members of other agencies asking me, "What has happened to LPD?" and "Who is that (name omitted) Asst. Chief, he/she is clueless?" I can only shake my head and say nothing.

The saddest part is that they have been up there so long, isolated from the streets and the working officers, working their petty personal agendas that they can't or don't even see what has happened to the department or worse, they don't care. All the more reason for a vote of no confidence for the COP and his staff.

How about right after we pass our NO VOTE OF CONFIDENCE for the Chief of Police, we then take a NO VOTE OF CONFIDENCE on our Union? It seems that the union is more concerned about keep our administration happy than doing what is best for us. It seems like if not the union, representatives for our union does not want to step on our administrators toes or up set them. I see this as a real problem with in our confidence in the union and our department.

I am calling the union out! I do not think our union will allow us the opportunity to have a NO VOTE OF CONFIDENCE on the chief or is ACOP staff. Mark those words. I believe it is because in my opinion, they do not want to look like the bad guys to the administration. All they ever do is dance around these types of things until the situation goes away. I know all of our Union Reps and most are personal friends of mine, I just have one question, is it you “The Reps” or the PBA, or the administration telling you what you can do or not do. All of “The Reps” are great guys and great street cops, what happened to you? The only answer we get our of our reps is, “I DON’T KNOW!”, well I am sorry but for me that is not good enough! This is my career and this is my money and my job!! It seems like the administration has, if you will, their thumb on our reps, sort of the old theory of “you keep your people in line and we will keep our people in line” .

Why isn’t our union making more of a stink about stuff going on with in our Police Department? What happened to “We will use the press” if we need to put pressure on the administration? Has anyone seen anything in the Ledger about what is going on with in our department? How about Bay New 9 ?..... No? Me either!!!

Our City Fathers are trying to fall through on a signed contract and take back our raises, we are cutting programs, our department moral is its lowest in 20 years, and the City Manager has threaten to lay off police officers!!! Wouldn’t you think this would be a good time to start doing something while we still have a job or are we going to wait until members get laid off to start saying something?

Can anyone remember the last time the words “Lay Off Police Officers” was ever came out of the City Manager’s mouth? I can tell you this; it certainly did not happen with Gene Strickland! Gene Strickland stood behind our police officers, would come to briefings and if you was a police officer, he knew your name. When was the last time you saw the city manager at a briefing or the chief?

Our police department is crumbling in on it self! All we hear out of our union reps about the lay offs is two things; 1) the city is bluffing and wont do it, 2) first ones hired, first ones fired! Well I thought our union was supposed to work for everyone to include the rookies? Most of them are young men and women who are newly married and have new born babies, trying to start a career, working the midnight shift and now they are going to get the shaft.

Why aren’t our union reps dancing on City Hall or the Ledger, or here is a great ideal, why aren’t our union reps organizing a “GATHERING” of our union, and other members of the city (electric and water, fire fighters, and other members of the PBA from Central Florida) and call a hearing at city hall. They could invite the press and let’s walk into city hall as an organized unit and speak our mind! Make a stance so the tax payers can see that the City Manger is trying to lay off police officers and us as police officers and the UNION are trying to prevent that and ask for the community’s help!!!

"Your are either a barker or biter" which one is our union???

Wake up UNION, Wake up City Hall, Wake Up TAX payers!!!! If this keeps up, we all will be wearing green!!!!

Go wear green if you are not happy. Quit wasting your time complaining. No one is listening.

Standing up and exposing the problems is not considered complaining. Just because we're not happy it doesn't mean we want to leave. We have way too much invested in this agency. Its our dept, we aren't leaving, and they can't shut us up.

Wow Greeniswhereitisat, that is the answer that I would get from one of our REPS or ADMINISTRATORS. “The old if you don’t like the way it is, go somewhere else”, you know I am tired of that. That attitude is what is wrong with this place now and so far as “NO ONE IS LISENING”, well I guess you have proven someone is, you are, and you responded to this post and I wish everyone who read this would post more of there opinions because A LOT OF PEOPLE READ THIS, EVERYDAY!!!

I have spend 10 plus years here and I am union paying dues member and I for once want to try to save this place that I work and I use to take pride in. I am tired of excuses and I am tired of people dancing around like they are trying to put out a fire. Why all the smoke and mirrors? If I wanted to walk away from this job I could have and that is still an opinion but unlike others, I believe in this JOB and what I do for my community. I remember the day when I use to say I would do this job for free, still would do that job, just not around the administration of LPD, because they only care about themselves. All they would have to do to bring up the moral in our department is to stand behind the troops.

Here is a situation that I remember when a brother detective was involved in a roll over crash of his departmental vehicle and was taken to the hospital with injuries. No administrator over the rank of LT. showed up or called to check on him, but what really impressed me was that the Great Grady did call the Lt. and asked him if there was anything he or his department could do, now in my mind that speaks volumes. Why can’t our administration act like that? Just a phone call or show your presents on scene and at lease acted like you gave two shits.

We are brothers and we need to work together. I am not here to bash anyone to include the REPS or “the old man at the top”. I personally like him as a person but he sucks as a chief and ceo. I am not sure what happened to him, when he was a captain he was a great man and still is a great man, but just my opinion he does not have the motivation or backing to do what needs to be done.

We, the members and the union need to find out what is the source of the problem is in our organization and lets focus our anger and frustration on removing those problems instead of dancing around and getting mad at each other.

You know is like servicing out a call, sometimes you spend more time trying to service the call out than you would if you just wrote the report.

WAKE UP LPD!!!

"Miami's police union, fed up with Miami Police Chief John Timoney, on Wednesday took the rare step of scheduling a vote on whether to declare a lack of confidence in his leadership.

It saddens me to see Chief John Timoney go astray. He assisted me in 1994 regarding my IAD complaint I filed against a NYC police officer. Everything he did was on the level.

...nobody here cares about your opinion...still.