Over lunch I reTweeted the following two items:
JKuenzie: SC Attorney General tells Cola police chief he has “no discretion” to refuse council’s directive on Benjamin investigation.
Followed shortly by:
wis10: Columbia Police Chief asks SCHP to review Benjamin investigation http://bit.ly/btAzxg
Note that you can read Henry McMaster’s opinion at Adam Beam’s blog.
Now, the question will be: Does this defuse Chief Carter’s confrontation with his bosses? Or do they still have a situation they have to deal with?
And if they don’t fire him (and mind you, I’m not saying they should), what sort of situation do Steve Benjamin and other new council members inherit?
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They inherit an independent police chief–which is what they *said* they wanted. Not someone who curries favor with council members–someone who does his job.
OK, this is interesting. Personally, I don’t want to see our fellow Rotarian get fired, either. But I’m having trouble wrapping my head around your notion that, if a consensus of council AND the acting city manager tell the chief for VERY GOOD reasons that they want to avoid problems by having a HP review of his investigation, and he goes very publicly running to an outside entity in an effort to avoid doing what they want him to do…. how is that a “good thing.”
Seems to me we DO need an “independent police chief” in the sense that we don’t want him in this council member’s or that one’s pocket, or one who would do favors to keep his job.
But this is something else altogether. We had a consensus of his bosses saying he needed to DO something that was not only not favoritism, but was meant to avoid any appearance of favoritism, and he refused.
That’s not independence. That’s insubordination.
Tone-deaf insubordination.
Columbia City Council still has an issue to deal with regarding future accidents.
IANAL (I Am Not A Lawyer), but Columbia City Council has not set policy regarding elected or incoming elected officials, or high-ranking city employees.
SC Attorney General, Henry McMaster, used “weasel words” to let Columbia Police Chief Tandy Carter off the hook because Columbia City Council has no regulation on their books.
Columbia City Council is working to rectify this situation.
Steve Gantt is the real permanent city manager; has been for a while. I don’t recall reading where *he* told Tandy to do differently. Only council.
I just received word from a council member who does not recall that council made a request for a report.
I think maybe the special meeting scheduled and then canceled for this morning was so they could do so.
Gantt said he has suggested for two weeks that Carter request a review of the April 21 car accident, in which Benjamin’s Mercedes collided with a Toyota Tercel making a right turn onto Gervais Street from Pickens Street at 5:43 a.m. The chief has not done that, Gantt said.
“I’m going to ask him one more time, and then I’m going to direct him to do it,” Gantt said.
Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/05/07/1276510/columbia-police-chiefs-job-in.html#ixzz0nHnVBHfJ
Yes, and the excellent Steve Gantt clearly stated that he has asked, not ordered. I truly do not understand why the Chief is taking this stance–maybe it’s a tough guy thing, maybe it’s an officer backing up his troops thing, maybe it;s to spite Steve Benjamin for the rape-investigation, or rather non-investigation claim.
I do know the chief is a great police chief and takes his job very seriously.