District meeting: Sarasota

Getting back to the topic of this thread, remember how the brass has repeatedly told us officer's to bring up issues of concern with no fear of retaliation?

Just ask Officer S. what happened the day after the meeting where she had the audacity to question the crappy schedule we work. We all saw how her LT took her concern (as the first post stated...oops, hit a nerve) and now she will pay the price.

Honest and open communication with no fear of retaliation...I think not!

Getting back to the topic of this thread, remember how the brass has repeatedly told us officer's to bring up issues of concern with no fear of retaliation?

Just ask Officer S. what happened the day after the meeting where she had the audacity to question the crappy schedule we work. We all saw how her LT took her concern (as the first post stated...oops, hit a nerve) and now she will pay the price.

Honest and open communication with no fear of retaliation...I think not!

Yes but perhaps she had a vaid point however with her being in her position that I am not. She has a little more legal standing if documentation can present itself so the brass might pay attention closely as not to fall into their old ways as it could literally cost them. Officer S only said what everyone in the room was thinking and its so awful that now she will have to watch her back especially since she does not play golf...

If I remember correctly, Officer S was the only one that had jokes made about her by a LT about her complaint (and this was while we were still in the meeting! If he's willing to do that while everyone is around , what will happen when no one is looking?).

She didn't look like she was very comfortable with being singled out like that, she might want to look into filling a complaint. Just my .02.

I agree, shes one of the most dedicated and respected officers out there and I might add actually has qualifications not like other. I dont think I would of treated her that way. Legal action ,,,its always a possibility

Any peon thinking about filing a complaint about a Lt. or above, better think about the ramifications. Once you file a complaint, the brass will brand you as a trouble maker, put your name on their doodoo list, and put you under their microscope to try to catch you doing something they can hammer you for. We all know how vindictive they are. Remember a few years ago when a couple of longtime BEI peons filed a complaint about a Lt? Remember what happened to them. If you absolutely must file a complaint, here are a few tips. Throw away any ambitions for advancement because your chances will instantly evaporate. Make sure your complaint is strong enough to get the person you’re complaining about fired and make you a strong plaintiff in a solid civil law suit. Put your house up for sale because you’re going to be transferred. Never breach any policy, no matter how innocently or trivial the breach may be. Check your car for a mobile tracking device every day. Assume you’re under personal or electronic surveillance at all times. Dot every I and cross every T. Never be alone. Have a reliable witness with you at all times.
Good luck.

The comment that I keep thinking about is one of the comments that the Chief made when one of the Lt.'s pointed out that their are officers looking for other jobs because of pur lack of pay.
He said something to the effect that as working folks are we could really ever expect is to be able to make our house payments and vehicle payments and maybe be a little comfortable.
What the hell is that?
Personally, I have larger goals that just getting by for the rest of my life. What did he mean by that? That we are getting paid nothing and that even if we got a raise it would not make that much difference in the long run anyway?

I go to these meetings and hope that the brass that speaks to us are really telling the truth and that they are not as uncaring as it seems and as they are made out to be.

I know alot of people are taking stabs at the director on here, but after the meeting, it is the AD that I think should be answering some questions. According to Chief Stephens, he submitted a LBR , paid $300 to have a presentation professionally created that represented our need for more officers and more pay, received accolades for that presentation, but was then told by the AD that only a certain amount of bills could be taken to the legislature and that our LBR and position request was not as important as the other bills. That is wrong, just plain wrong.
I wonder what those bills were that were deemed more important that our pay and more positions?

Does anyone know?

I didn't hear the comment, but it would be easy for a Chief to say that working folks should only be able to expect to make their house payments and vehicle payments and maybe be a little comfortable. Chiefs are in a different class and make a lot more money than regular workng folks for doing less work. Just for kicks, get out your calculator. Now, ad up the incomes of the director, the deputy director, and their immediate family members who are on the state payroll. Ad their so-called business travel expenditures to that. Then ad their personal assets and real estate holdings to that. Not counting their other benefits and goodies, it's a staggering amount for a relatively small number of people. So what has that got to do with any of this? A lot! While you're just getting by, they're getting fat. If they can save the state a few bucks at your expense, they'll probably get a raise for doing such a great job of saving money. You may have larger goals than just getting by, but Tommy and friends aren't interested in your goals. They have their own. The corporate world is a good example. When a big corporation downsizes, employees get laid off. The CEO gets a bonus for saving money. Think about it.

The comment that I keep thinking about is one of the comments that the Chief made when one of the Lt.'s pointed out that their are officers looking for other jobs because of pur lack of pay.
He said something to the effect that as working folks are we could really ever expect is to be able to make our house payments and vehicle payments and maybe be a little comfortable.
What the hell is that?
Personally, I have larger goals that just getting by for the rest of my life. What did he mean by that? That we are getting paid nothing and that even if we got a raise it would not make that much difference in the long run anyway?

I go to these meetings and hope that the brass that speaks to us are really telling the truth and that they are not as uncaring as it seems and as they are made out to be.

I know alot of people are taking stabs at the director on here, but after the meeting, it is the AD that I think should be answering some questions. According to Chief Stephens, he submitted a LBR , paid $300 to have a presentation professionally created that represented our need for more officers and more pay, received accolades for that presentation, but was then told by the AD that only a certain amount of bills could be taken to the legislature and that our LBR and position request was not as important as the other bills. That is wrong, just plain wrong.
I wonder what those bills were that were deemed more important that our pay and more positions?

Does anyone know?

The Director's have tried to get us pay raises and additional positions. The process is always stopped at a higher level and it is not their fault. We are the red headed step children of the Department of Environmental Protection. The problem is the DEP Chain of Command and not the DLE Chain of Command. Let's face it no one really cares for law enforcement until they need help or someone to crack the whip. The one that needs to be out in he field communicating one on one with the field officer is the Secretary of this department. We all know that she has such a large agency and area of responsibility that she doesn't hear the true issues that are important to us. The issues get curtailed just above Director's level and just below the Secretary's level. You can't have "yes men" working for you all of the time. You have to have members at higher levels who will tell it like it is without the fear of being terminated due to being select exempt or in the senior class of mangement. The Director's and the Chief's have been taking the brunt of all of these accusations and they are only supporting their chain of command as any good employee should do. It's the upper management of the Department of Environmental Protection that prioritizes the bills and which divisions get what and let's face it we are very low on the totem pole and it is only effecting the environment that we have taken an oath to protect. So let's get off of our chain of commands back, it's not them!

DEP needs to stop spending zillions of dollars on all of these land purchases that the department can not manage.

I agree. And we'd all like more money. But I think we're getting away from the real problem. Money isn't the big issue for many of us. To make my point, here are a few quotes from previous posts:

"How about some actual weekends off ? "thank you for your dedication to the park service." do I cut grass and trim trees ? IM A STATE LEO" "why do we have a district meeting at a park.. that was tacky." "What a morale booster that was." "Speaking of a morale booster, which LT said he really didn't care about the morale of his people as long as the parks are taken care of ? "If you guys have such a problem with the park service, shouldn't you start looking for another job?" "You guys in the Southwest are making the rest of us look bad!!" No where on my car, badge, patch, Identification does it say anything about park service nor do I remember that being anywhere in the requirements to be a Florida LEO." "It is the top management that have shown they care nothing of the line officer, prime example--Line supervisors because they take a weekend off to accompany the Captain and that'll get you a promotion." "Remember how the brass has repeatedly told us officer's to bring up issues of concern with no fear of retaliation? Just ask Officer S. what happened the day after the meeting where she had the audacity to question the crappy schedule we work. We all saw how her LT took her concern and now she will pay the price. Honest and open communication with no fear of retaliation...I think not!" "Officer S only said what everyone in the room was thinking and its so awful that now she will have to watch her back especially since she does not play golf" "Officer S was the only one that had jokes made about her by a LT about her complaint (and this was while we were still in the meeting! If he's willing to do that while everyone is around, what will happen when no one is looking?).

The big problem is not the AD or the people between her and the director. It's the director. We'd like a level playing field where we're treated with respect, honesty and equality. But that clearly isn't going to happen under the current director because he's a politician, not a cop. There are officers in this state who make less money than we do, but who are happy because they have bosses who started out as a real cops and worked their way to the top. Those bosses treat their officers with respect, actually encourage them to make arrests, have fair promotional processes, don't give jobs to personal friends, and don't tell their officers to look for a job elsewhere and not let the door hit them butt on the way out when their officers don't agree with them.