With the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners powers being reduced by Kevyn Orr. I came across this Detroit News 2003 article..... May 16, 2003 Section: Front Edition: Two Dot Page: 01A Mayor slams press, political adversaries Deputy chief betrayed trust, Kilpatrick says The Detroit News Darci McConnell DETROIT -- Denouncing the media, political enemies and what he called an untrustworthy top police official, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on Thursday denied any acts of impropriety tied to the firing of Gary Brown. In what he stressed would be his last public comment on allegations that he fired the police departments head of internal affairs for investigating him, his family and members of his security detail, Kilpatrick took to the steps of the Manoogian Mansion, the mayoral residence, Thursday evening to lead, he said. The person who heads the Professional Accountability Bureau, responsible for investigating misconduct by police officers, must possess integrity and the ability to maintain confidentiality, the mayor said. Brown failed on both counts, he said. Gary Brown was removed from that position because he violated that trust, Kilpatrick said. The mayor added that information was given to me about how Brown violated that trust, but he did not detail what was said or who gave him the information. Detroit Police Chief Jerry A. Oliver Sr. has said that Brown continued an investigation into an alleged wild party held at the Manoogian Mansion without getting his approval because of a personal grudge against the mayor. Brown said Thursday that any suggestions he acted improperly are nonsense. Its almost an insult to the men and women in the bureau, he said. Its almost an accusation that there was some type of conspiracy. The 12-minute speech and eight-minute news conference, carried live by local TV stations, was attended by several Kilpatrick appointees, his father, grandfather, sister and other supporters. Many of his comments were interrupted by applause from the 50 or so backers who showed up. Missing was the mayors wife, Carlita. She was asked by the mayor not to attend, said Jamaine Dickens, Kilpatricks press secretary. Browns attorney, Michael Stefani, said Kilpatricks statement and brief news conference were a lot of words but no substance. But I really didnt expect anything else, because (Kilpatrick) has nothing to say. He skated around the issue of why Gary Brown wasnt qualified to be the head of internal affairs, Stefani said. Stefani said Brown received a positive performance evaluation within the past 45 days, along with a bonus of between $1,500 and $2,000 for achieving departmental goals. Brown said he was fired on May 9 because he was investigating two alleged incidents in which officers assigned to the mayors bodyguard detail were involved in traffic accidents with city vehicles after leaving a downtown nightclub, charges of falsified overtime records by the mayors security detail and reports of drinking on the job by members of the mayors security team. Brown was also reviewing allegations of a party at the Manoogian Mansion that reportedly ended after a stripper fought with Kilpatricks wife. All the allegations were investigated after a complaint was made by a former member of the mayors security detail, Officer Harold Nelthrope. At his news conference, Kilpatrick said Brown could have accepted a demotion to the rank of lieutenant. Stefani called that statement a bunch of baloney. Thats (Kilpatricks) lawyers telling him what to say, Stefani said. The citys lawyers realize now that the mayor made a big mistake (in firing Brown), and now theyre trying to mitigate the damages. On Friday, Oliver gave the letter, signed by Kilpatrick, that removed Brown from his post as deputy police chief. The letter ends with the sentence: I wish you success in all of your endeavors. Supports review While the dispute between Kilpatrick and Brown continued, the mayor said Thursday that he supports a review of the controversy by either state or federal officials. Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans, whom the mayor asked initially to investigate, said Wednesday that he will not lead the probe. Kwame Kilpatrick has nothing to hide about any of these allegations, the mayor said. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey G. Collins is reviewing two requests for an investigation: one from Oliver and another from the City Council, said a spokeswoman for Collins. On Thursday, Oliver told the Board of Police Commissioners about his talks with Michigan State Police and Collins. The only way to resolve this issue is to have an independent look. That has been my recommendation (from the beginning). Let the chips fall where they may, the chief said. An outside investigation was supported by the four commissioners in attendance at Thursdays meeting. Commissioner the Rev. Edgar Vann did not attend the meeting because he was at his sons college graduation. The rose is smelling out there, Commissioner Erminia Ramirez said. Some investigation needs to be done independently. Commissioner Megan Norris said she was troubled by the mayors firing of the head of the departments internal affairs division. There is an appearance that the mayor is hand-picking the folks who will be doing the oversight of the department, Norris said. On Thursday, Citizens for Police Accountability asked the City Council to put on the ballot a charter amendment that would change the way the Board of Police Commissioners is selected. Under the measure, two commissioners would be appointed by the council, two would be appointed by the mayor and one would be jointly appointed by both. The council would also have to approve the mayors appointment of police chief, said Jonathan Kinloch, who heads the group. Wild party denial At his news conference Thursday, Kilpatrick, 32, said the rumor that he had a wild party at the Manoogian Mansion is false and may be a case of stereotyping because of his youth and the fact he wears a diamond stud earring. I would never disrespect my God, my wife or my home or my children with this nonsense, Kilpatrick said. It never happened. It never happened. It never happened. The mayor stopped short of ruling out the incidents involving members of his security detail, Loronzo (Greg) Jones and Michael Martin, saying, anything is possible. But he added that based on his longtime friendship with the men, he didnt believe the allegations were credible. Flanked by two members of his security detail, Kilpatrick called the medias reporting on the issue a feeding frenzy that is dividing the city. This demonic influence has to stop. The frenzy has to stop, he said. Unfair, inaccurate journalism about him, which he tied in part to May being sweeps month for TV stations, can be seen in the repeated attention to the size of his security detail, Kilpatrick said. His staff of 20 officers is smaller than that of his predecessors, Coleman Young and Dennis Archer, he said. Young had between 25 and 35 officers assigned to him. Figures for the number of security assigned to Archers detail were not available Thursday. Kilpatricks budget request for the 2003-04 fiscal year asks for 21 executive protection officers. While the mayor denounced this weeks media coverage, at least four members of his security detail stood watch, stonefaced. Jones, the head of the unit, stood off to the north end of the crowd and seemed to stare far down the street. He refused comment, as did Oliver, who arrived near the end of the event. The citys attorney, Ruth Carter, and others told him not to make any public comments about the controversy, the mayor noted. Bernard Kilpatrick, the mayors father, said he advised his son not to talk to the media today, but he thought the event went well. The correct political thing would have been not to say anything and go about running the city, he said. But Bernard Kilpatrick said his sons strategy was sound. He decided to come out and say this, and Im glad he did it, he said. MAYOR BACKTRACKS * On Wednesday, Bob Berg, an adviser to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on media matters, releases to the press a May 6 memo that names former Kilpatrick bodyguard Officer Harold Nelthrope as a source who talked to internal affairs investigators about alleged wrongdoing by two of his colleagues. On Thursday, Kilpatrick and Berg said it was a mistake to release the memo that named Nelthrope. The mayor and Berg express regret. * On May 9, Deputy Chief Gary Brown is given a letter from Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in which he is told that he is fired from his appointment as deputy chief. Deputy Chief Brown is no longer with the department, Oliver said Sunday. He said that the department is going into another direction. On Thursday, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says for the first time publicly that Deputy Chief Gary Brown could have accepted a demotion to the rank of lieutenant and not fired from the department. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said he has nothing to hide about any of the allegations made against him. Fired Deputy Chief Gary Brown called the accusation that he acted improperly nonsense, and said it was almost in insult to members of the police force. Detroit Police Chief Jerry A. Oliver Sr., standing, told members of the Board of Police Commissioners that an outside probe is needed. Mayor Kilpatricks father, Bernard Kilpatrick, left, and the mayors sister, Ayanna Kilpatrick, listen to the mayors remarks during his news conference Thursday at the Manoogian Mansion in Detroit. Copyright (c) The Detroit News. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 04:54:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015