Jonathan -- No, I think you've listed everything I have seen. Admittedly, it's pretty slim evidence of alienating the everyday cop. But it's what we've got. As your comments suggest, it's the Police Union that has had the most visible fracas with McManus, not individual cops. I'm assuming that the individual cops agree with what their organization say. Maybe that's not true, but do you have any evidence to the contrary? We have to deal with what we've got.
I liked Olson because both crime and thumping have decreased under his tenure, and he's been around long enough to take the credit for the changes. McManus hasn't been in Dayton long enough to take either credit or blame for any changes that have occurred. Instead Rybak uses the example of firing a cop who struck a minority suspect. To me, one example is public relations, not an indication of management skills. And the other things Rybak brings up are all public relations, not improved policing on the street. Maybe McManus will be a great manager, but I don't think we can tell if that's true based on his limited history in Dayton. Instead we're basing the decision based on his political skills, and hoping that translates into management skills. I would prefer someone who's been in one jurisdiction long enough to demonstrate improvement there. I don't know if any of the other candidates qualify under these standards either. Have the internal candidates been in one district long enough (say five years) to show that their efforts have made a difference? (either good or bad) I've mostly seen comments on this List that the commenter "liked" the candidate. I don't find that real impressive. I'm sorry that I'm just starting to discuss this at this late date. The issues that I brought up last time just came to me as I was writing earlier today, and so I got more emphatic as I wrote. Mark Anderson Bancroft -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 3:44 PM To: Anderson, Mark (GESM); [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Mpls] Importance of employees' opinions concerning new boss >>From what I've read, the one group that McManus alienated in Dayton was the street cop. I think Rybak is looking for evolutionary change, not revolutionary, so he's expecting McManus to work with the culture that's there, and guide it in the right direction. I just hope that McManus can do this. What I'm afraid is that the street cops will get so disgusted by him, that they will refuse to work with the forces of moderation at all, which may result in more thumpers.<<< snip >>The Dayton street cops think not so good. Since it looks like McManus will be our new chief, I hope they are wrong.<<< Mark, Can you provide a little more specific information on this, like what you read or some link? From what I've read, the only people who seem to have a problem with McManus in Dayton is the Police Union and that was because of the changes McManus made to the regulations regarding firing at fleeing suspects, and possible the efforts he made to make the department more diverse and bridge the city's racial divide: http://www.daytondailynews.com/opinion/content/opinion/daily/1229mcmanus.html In fact the only reference I can find to street cop dissatisfaction is this line: "His ideas haven't received universal approval from the rank and file." Which doesn't really indicate alienation, but more disagreement. Of course it was followed directly by this line: "Indeed, the Fraternal Order of Police angrily has opposed some of his initiatives." Which leads me to believe it's what I mentioned before. Article follows: http://www.daytondailynews.com/opinion/content/opinion/daily/1213transplant.ht ml although GR Anderson said that McManus "not afraid to alienate a few rank-and-file cops if that's the price of the ticket." when talking about McManus being the "rare police executive who is serious about reforming certain aspects of how cops do their jobs, particularly where encounters with other races and cultures are concerned": http://www.citypages.com/databank/24/1203/article11775.asp If I've missed something I, and I'm sure at least 7 other Council Members and many citizens would like to know about problems he's had, especially with street cops, so if you can clarify it would be immensely helpful. We already have some Council Members who made their decision prior to even meeting McManus, and I'd hate for one of them or others on the List to add "I heard he alienated the street cops" to this without some substantiating evidence as they consider the nomination. Jonathan Palmer Victory REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
