Thursday, June 18th

[tweet][Google] From The Times Free Press- A three-month independent review of the Cleveland Police Department calls for immediate action to ensure the department does not repeat the mistakes of the past and to bring down a crime rate ranked as the highest in the state among similar-sized cities.  CPD has been plagued with scandal in recent years, most recently the forced retirement of its chief and the demotion and transfer of two other officers. In March, the city contracted former TBI Director Larry Wallace to conduct an independent review of CPD’s policies, procedures and practices. Wallace’s 83-page report, released Wednesday, offers the City Council 10 recommendations and attaches a price tag of $1.6 million atop of CPD’s $9 million budget for fiscal 2015.Wallace said he interviewed more than 220 people — including every member of CPD — as part of his extensive review. “These sometimes intensely personal discussions revealed several distinct patterns of thought that has ultimately been extremely helpful in formulating this report,” Wallace said in the report. Wallace did not return a request for comment Wednesday. His report never specified which “heavily publicized situations” had earned such negative publicity, but the Times Free Press has reported on numerous scandals in recent years. The city’s most recent chief, Dennis Maddux, was demoted after just one day at the helm when he was caught in a sex scandal that involved one of his subordinate’s wives. Maddux retired last month to avoid being fired after an investigation coordinated by the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office found him in violation of several CPD department policies. Longtime chief Wes Snyder abruptly retired in 2013 when video footage surfaced showing him and a woman trysting in a warehouse storage unit in Cleveland outfitted with rugs, pillows and a bottle of brandy. David Bishop served as chief until he retired for medical reasons. Mark Gibson has been interim chief since Maddux’s ouster. In recent years, another CPD officer — Snyder’s brother in law — was demoted for conducting multiple sexual affairs while on duty; two officers were sentenced to state prison for statutory rape and another was fired and sued by a local woman who alleged he sexually assaulted her. **** Wallace’s recommendations to the council include hiring a new chief through a more transparent process. He advised assigning two people to help City Manager Janice Casteel pick the next chief, even though the City Charter gives her the responsibility alone, and he called for public interviews of three finalists before one is chosen. “The city’s next selection for Police Chief may be the most critical in Cleveland’s history,” Wallace says in the report. “In light of recent events, it is vital the upcoming selection process be conducted with the utmost transparency to ensure the public’s trust in its city government.” A few of his other suggestions include hiring more officers, particularly female and minority employees; reorganizing the command staff, and staffing the Police Service Building around the clock. Wallace said officials with CPD and the city of Cleveland need to meet more frequently to guarantee that policy manuals are synchronized in order to protect themselves from potential litigation. He did not give his opinion whether CPD’s personnel policies, which have never been voted upon by the City Council as the charter requires, have the force of law. Only a few members of the City Council were willing to comment on the report Wednesday. Councilman Bill Estes said he appreciates the way Wallace presented his findings and found the price tags the consultant attached to all of his recommendations helpful. He said it functions as a starting point for the council’s discussion. Councilman Richard Banks said he was surprised to read about the high crime statistics in the city, and hopes the City Council will vote to implement most, if not all, of the recommendations. “I think that if we can be assured that Cleveland can be a safer place I think we can find the money,” Banks said. ” Hopefully it is a new day in Cleveland for our police department. We have professional officers who want to do their job and want strong role models in leadership capacity and they want to get off the front page of the media for negative [attention.]” Councilman George Poe said he likes some of the recommendations, but does not think CPD needs any more money. He recommended shifting more officers to nights, ensuring more manpower on the streets. “Use the same people we got already drawing salaries. They already got guns, badges, cars, computers, shotguns, AK-47s, tear gas, knuckles, brass knuckles and Tasers,” he said. “They already got all that, so there is not an increase in nothing except they need to be on the street 24/7.” The council meets Monday to discuss Wallace’s report and to discuss Casteel’s upcoming evaluation — her first since she was named city manager eight years ago. Recommendations: 1. Hire a new police chief, with two qualified individuals to assist city manager; three finalists to be interviewed publicly by the panel and hire made bySept.  1. 2. Police and city officials to begin “regular meetings to synchronize policies, procedures and practices as soon as possible” so their different policy manuals “do not become pitted against each other in disciplinary actions and/or potential litigation …” 3. Partner with Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and Charleston Police Department to develop a countywide safety plan against “situations of civil unrest such as those … in Ferguson, Mo., Charleston, S.C., Baltimore, Md., and others.” 4. Diversity initiative to be developed immediately to recruit women and minorities. 5. Repair departmental chain of command and “start department-wide healing process.” 6. Reorganize command staff; eliminate assistant chief position, reorganize functions under operations captain and professional standards captain; raise pay grade for civilian support manager. 7. Reform promotion process for sergeant through chief level with specific experience and training requirements. 8. Hire two more detectives, one more school resource officer, six patrol officers, an intelligence analyst and a receptionist. Designate one Master Patrol Officer in each of the six patrol teams. Replace one aging K-9 and acquire two more, and buy vehicles to transport them. Designate six current patrol officers to focus on traffic control. 9. Complete purchase of specialized equipment, including body cameras for all uniformed officers and GPS tracking in every vehicle, and develop training “in sensitive areas not typically offered during routine in-service training.” 10. Staff counter at police services building on evenings and weekends; install bulletproof glass in the lobby and bullet-resistant material between the windows and the floor to alleviate “serious safety concerns.” Source: Independent review of Cleveland Police Department From The Times Free Press- CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland continues on track with its home-building schedule while a search committee moves forward to select a new executive director for the organization.  Habitat families, sponsors, donors and volunteers packed a recent ceremony dedicating four new homes in the Southgate Hill subdivision, located on South Lee Highway.  Of the four homes, two were made possible through Habitat’s Women Build initiative, which seeks to engage women “who want to build homes, build friendships, strengthen communities and also learn construction skills,” said Desireé Coln, marketing and special events coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland. More than 400 women — many of them business owners and educators — participated in Women Build this year as members of 40 teams composed of 10 women each, Coln said. The four families who attained home ownership through Habitat were required to complete 300-400 hours of “sweat equity” by volunteering at build sites, Habitat ReStores or community events, Coln said. In other business, Habitat officials are evaluating about 20 resumes as part of their search for a new executive director, said Bernadette Douglas, secretary on the organization’s board of directors. “We’re figuring out who we’re going to interview,” Douglas said. “Our goal is to have somebody no later than Sept. 1.” Times Free Press-UPDATE A second person has died after a wreck involving a tractor-trailer and a car in the Ocoee Gorge on Monday. The Tennessee Highway Patrol said 20-year-old Brent Ledford died Tuesday at Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga. According to a crash report, Ledford, of Murphy, N.C., was swerving down U.S. Highway 64 in a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier around 10:50 a.m. when he crossed the center line and hit a tractor-trailer head-on. Blake Millsaps, 23, of Marble, N.C., who had been riding with Ledford, also was taken Erlanger. Doctors declared him dead on arrival. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol report, Ledford had been drinking. Channel 3 reports- MCMINN COUNTY, TN (WRCB) –  A McMinn County business manager took matters into his own hands after a thief got away with thousands of dollars in metal materials. It wasn’t until he placed a $40 deer camera on a shelf that he realized it was an employee behind the crime. Sheriff Joe Guy is encouraging others to make the same investment. . Howard Drake, Jr. of Cleveland was the weekend security guard at Bluegrass Materials Company in Calhoun. He’s accused of stealing thousands of dollars of copper while on the clock. After the manager started noticing 1,500 pounds of copper wiring worth $4,000 had gone missing several weeks ago, he placed a hidden deer camera on a shelf inside the facility’s garage. The low-cost camera takes high quality pictures. It captured multiple images of a shirtless Drake with the stolen copper wire. Drake confessed to selling the stolen copper to a metal dealer in Bradley County. Although there are several state laws designed to crack down on metal thieves, serial numbers can’t be tracked on scrap metal like copper wires. Deer cameras can be purchased at sporting goods stores. Drake was charged and booked into the McMinn County Jail. He is currently out on bond. From The Cleveland Daily Banner- Community leaders seized the chance to meet with and welcome new Bradley County Director of Schools Dr. Linda Cash. The Bradley Cleveland Public Education Foundation held a reception in her honor Tuesday, and many filled the lobby of the Museum Center at Five Points to meet her. Cash was given assurances of the attendees’ support, and she shared how she and her family are working to make Bradley County their home. Cash is a mother of three sons, and her youngest one, Christopher, will be a sophomore at one of the local public high schools this fall. In conversations with reception attendees, she said her family is still searching for a home in Bradley County, and its zoning will determine where he goes. Her most recent employment was as the assistant director of schools in Robertson County, which is north of Nashville and near the Kentucky border. Cash thanked those who attended for their support and members of the county school board for their support as she begins her tenure as director.