IMPD's
unorthodox dual-chief system could be around awhile.
While
a task force to find a new Indianapolis public safety director should take
shape within a few weeks, it could be much longer before the top leadership of
the city's Police Department becomes clearer.
Authorities
said it could take months before interim Chief Rick Hite gets his certification
as an Indiana police officer. Until he does, his immediate underling, William
Lorah, holds the title of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department acting
chief at the same time.
Critics
say having two bosses isn't better than one. It just fosters confusion among
the ranks and more public skepticism.
"This
is a textbook example of how not to bring about change in a public safety
agency," said retired Indiana State Police officer Jim White, now a public
safety lecturer at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
"This
only further exacerbates the situation as Lorah, too, is a lame duck. This is a
leadership failure, and it rests squarely on the mayor," White said of
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.
IMPD
has faced leadership questions since Chief Paul Ciesielski resigned last month
over the department's mishandling of a key piece of evidence in a suspended
officer's case and embattled Director of Public Safety Frank Straub announced
he would leave by Aug. 1.
Either
way, chances are good that Hite's tenure as chief will remain temporary, as
will Lorah's as his first assistant. The person eventually appointed as public
safety director will undoubtedly choose his or her own chief.
Some
observers also see the failure to get Hite credentialed by now as a lack of
planning by Straub, who brought Hite to Indianapolis in a deputy director's job
in November 2010.
"It's
common knowledge that Straub wanted Hite as chief for a while now, and he's had
a couple of years to get him certified," said law enforcement consultant
Jim Alsup, director of the Indianapolis-based Public Agency Training Council, a
private firm that offers law enforcement classes. "What was he doing all
that time?"
Straub
was unavailable to comment.
Hite
was an officer for 34 years in Baltimore -- reaching the rank of major and
deputy chief -- but he isn't a certified police officer in Indiana. That means
that if Hite sees lawbreaking, he has to call another officer because he
doesn't have arrest powers.
To
become certified, Hite must have his personnel files sent to the Indiana Law
Enforcement Training Board for review. But the earliest that review could occur
is June 18, at the board's next meeting, said Rusty Goodpaster, executive
director of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, a state agency.
Then
Hite would need to schedule exams in general law enforcement, Indiana criminal
law and Indiana traffic laws and a chief's test.
He
also would have to take written and proficiency exams on firearms, Goodpaster
said.
"The
process could take a few months or longer if he chooses to take classes before
the tests," Goodpaster said. "Some of the tests should be no problem
for someone with his experience. The trickiest will be those dealing with
Indiana law, because they could differ from Maryland."
However,
Hite could speed up the process by passing a 40-hour pre-basic-training course.
If
he passes that course, the Law Enforcement Academy could grant him a waiver
that would restore his police powers immediately and give him a year to
complete all the other tests.
It
was not clear whether Hite already had taken or planned to take the pre-basic
course.
Hite
did not respond to interview requests. Straub's office wouldn't answer
questions about Hite. And Marc Lotter, the mayor's spokesman, said he did not
know Hite's credentialing status.
Ciesielski
resigned April 17, the same day Ballard announced that blood drawn from
suspended IMPD officer David Bisard had been improperly moved from a
refrigerated area and possibly ruined. Bisard is awaiting trial in a crash that
killed one motorcyclist and injured two others on Aug. 6, 2010.
Hite
was named acting chief after Ciesielski stepped down. Lotter said Hite was
going about his job like any new chief.
"He's
meeting officers and command staff and going out on calls," Lotter said,
adding that the unique arrangement at the top shouldn't hurt morale among
officers.
"We
have 1,600 men and women who are excellent public servants and doing what they
are trained to do no matter what is going on above them," Lotter said.
Meanwhile,
the mayor was studying how many people, and who, should be on the committee
that searches for Straub's replacement.
"In
the next couple of weeks, we will get the framework together," Lotter
said.
But
White and Alsup insisted that Straub, who has become a lightning rod for many
critics of IMPD, should leave now for the good of the department.
"Anything
Straub attempts to introduce will be met with resistance," White said.
"It would be better for him, public safety and citizens if he were to
leave immediately.
"His staying on does no one any good.
In short, Straub and Hite are damaged goods. They have no credibility."
Had enough of an 18th
century police operating in the 21st
century? Write to the Speaker of the
House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and
demand federal hearings into the police problem in America. Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike
rule on abuse, and a permanent DOJ
office on Police Misconduct.