The city's mayor and safety director are threatening to suspend or fire the police chief if the Gang Task Force isn't reorganized.
The order late Wednesday from Mayor Janet Weir Creighton and Safety Director Bernard Hunt has put the task force on hold, at least temporarily. City officials agree the popular crime-fighting effort should continue.
(Hunt) has basically told me to remove the supervision from the task force. The task force, being a very sensitive, highly trained position that it is, I don't see how I could responsibly send four officers out without supervision, Police Chief Dean McKimm said late Wednesday.
At issue is the task force's staffing, and how the positions are filled.
The mayor's directive follows grievances filed by police Sgt. Jack Angelo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing supervisory officers. The complaints argue that the manpower moves used to create the current task force staff were improper. Angelo wants those involved put back on their old posts.McKimm has been told to post the newly available jobs by Friday or face suspension or firing.
I arranged for these transfers at the request of each of those officers, the chief said. All I did was comply with the wishes of their union officers, and at no expense to any other officer.
Angelo last week proposed that the chief also create a lieutenant's position, one that the chief confirmed would promote Angelo. Under Angelo's proposal, a lieutenant's position would also be created on the task force with the removal of Capt. James Myers, who has led the group since its inception May 1.
Creighton said late Wednesday that Hunt believes McKimm is interpreting the union contract rather than following it as written.
He won't bend, he's a wall, Creighton said of McKimm. He wants to debate the contract.
Said McKimm, I was following the contract rules and still am at this time. He said he wanted to await a grievance hearing before committing to any changes.
The mayor's letter to McKimm accuses him of resisting attempts to make the task force a permanent part of the department. It's something the administration says it wants, based on public response. McKimm said he doesn't think the timing is right, given current staffing levels.
Hunt could not be reached for comment.
Creighton said she's lost patience with problems at the Police Department. She made reference to McKimm's filing of a civil lawsuit Tuesday against Angelo and a second union officer.
Theyre supposed to be giving you a sense of security, she said, but instead you read about them on the front page of the newspaper, and you read that the police chief is suing two of his men.
It's not only discouraging, but it's disruptive to the city of Canton, it's disruptive to the mission were trying to achieve by moving this city ahead, she said.