AREAS OF CONCERN UNDER SCOTT ADMINISTRATION GREENSBORO POLICE DEPARTMENT 2017 When issues and complaints arise regarding the current principles and culture of the Greensboro Police Department, it is the responsibility of officers affected to ask questions and raise concerns regarding problems in the workplace. The most fundamental or essential ethical issue that we must face are integrity and trust. The Greensboro Police Department must strive to protect and serve the community with honesty and a commitment to continually treat every citizen fairly. This concept should also equally apply internally to each of its officers. As of this entry, there are approximately 673 total sworn officers of which 137 are African- American. This makes up approximately 20% of the current sworn force. The City of Greensboro is a rich and diverse community full of interesting cultures and people who should be treated with respect and from whom there is a great deal to learn. The Department should aim to mirror the community it serves. It should also aim to internally enforce equal opportunities that provide each officer the ability to enjoy a respectable workplace environment that values their contributions. Maximizing the value of each officer’s contribution is a key element in diverse growth and the successful attrition and retention of each officer in the agency. ‘The purpose of this memorandum Is to identify and address internal issues and concerns under the Scott Administration that should be reported to the community by its own officers who have been entrusted to protect and serve it. It is with great hope that the leaders of this city will hold Scott accountable for his lack of judgment, inconsistent decision making, and ineffective management style that has led to the current internal chaos within the department. ‘A change of leadership is now desired among many who come to work each day with less and less hope than the day before that change will come and that our department can begin to find our roots to grow once again to the status and integrity of what we once were yesteryear.Introduction DW Scott was sworn in as the 22" Police Chief of Greensboro in March 2015. There was notable opposition and a lack of transparency in the determining factors that guided the selection process of the final two candidates to include Scott and an African-American female candidate from Oakland, CA. As the newly appointed police chief began his opening press conference, demonstrators and community activists began chanting “Wayne Scott Bad Choice” repeatedly as they entered the atrium of the Police Department just prior to City Manager Jim Westmoreland introducing Scott as his selection for Police Chief. Notable community, political, and religious leaders protesting the selection process were: Reverend Dr. Cardes H. Brown, Jr., Reverend Nelson N. Johnson, Reverend Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, former Councilwoman Goldie Wells, and Councilwoman Sharon Hightower. The overwhelming theme of opposition from the community organizers in attendance was that little was known of Scott’s abilities, accomplishments, and relationships with the minority community in his 20+ years of service with the Greensboro Police Department thus far. Lack of Experience In Minority Community D.W Scott did not attend grade school, high school, or college in Greensboro. He joined the Greensboro Police Department in 1992. He was a patrol officer assigned to the western geographical area of the city for call response. He would later be promoted to Corporal and remain assigned within the western geographical area of the city. His routine daily contact in that particular community would be with predominately affluent citizens and business contacts and few minority or impoverished people of color. He would later be promoted to Sergeant and transferred to the eastern geograp area of the city where for approximately eight (8) months he would have primarily supervised officers who routinely dealt with more diverse community problems, higher call response volumes, and a greater percentage and diversity of minority citizens. He then transferred in grade to the Special Operations Division which oversees all specialized traffic enforcement and critical incident planning citywide. At the time of his tenure there were only two (2) minority officers assigned in the Special Operations Division.He was then promoted to Lieutenant and transferred into the department's Training Division where he served as the Executive Officer that oversees the police academy, continuing education and recertification of officers, and outside training requests for the entire department He was then promoted to Captain and transferred as Commanding Officer of the Central District which included downtown as well as eventually returning as the Commanding Officer of the Training Division, He would shortly be promoted later to Assistant Chief and serve as command over Patrol and the Investigative Bureau under former Police Chief Ken Miller. The career track of D.W Scott for 20 + years of service have inadequately prepared him to develop and maintain consistent minority contact in the community. It further does not accurately reflect or represent the necessary experience required to interact with a higher proportion of minority citizens or even minority officers in his tenure. As a result, itis known that Scott only associates with minorities in the community and the workplace in his professional capacity. Furthermore, Scott has not made any intent or direct contact with his minority officers as a whole to identify and address concerns specific to their needs and desires. He routinely meets with the Greensboro Police Officers Association (GPOA) Which is predominately white and misrepresents this body with no governing power as the general voice and opinion of how his leadership goals are received. Scott has continuing difficulty in personally engaging in quality of life issues in the minority community. He does not personally come to an equal percentage of ‘community meetings in response to violent crime in high crime areas as he would with business contacts in more industrial areas of the city. In violent crime response, he does not respond equally to task force walks and engaging in direct minority community contact with lay citizens himself as he directs command level subordinates to represent him. His lack of proactive minority contact has further created euphoria of genuine empathy for victims of violent crime within the minority community.Mh, Lack of Effective Leadership Since DW Scott's inception as Chief of Police, his decision making in a wide variety of areas has hit an all-time low when it comes to weigh the best interests of the community and the officer. Division Commanders no longer control the division they are responsible for on their independent judgment and discretion for rather minor administrative issues that could be solved by remediation or training. Chief Scott has adopted the “One Voice” philosophy meaning that any plan that is developed by him everyone must adopt unilaterally with no adjustments. This has taken away from the Division Commanders necessity to adjust due to geographical and sociological differences within the geographical police districts the city is divided upon. Certain areas need more focus and certain areas need less focus depending upon the needs and concerns of the residents within those communities. The “One Voice” approach has further “tied the hands” of the patrol officer who once had the ability to make independent decisions in the best interest of the community for which he or she serves. Officers are no longer extensions of the communities for which they are assigned—they are just a call response mechanism and are no longer able to deter crime at a rate they once were. Chief Scott has force fed the Neighborhood Oriented Policing (NOP) concept to the officers but actually has little knowledge of how to make it successful. In order for this concept to work, the officer must be afforded the latitude to build partnerships in the community without fear of retribution for doing same. The officer must also be recruited, trained, and have a greater desire for change in the community for which he or she serves. These partnerships should be broad in nature to include some non-police oriented activities, however, the same officer cannot be told to “shake his hand on Monday and arrest him on Tuesday.” These conflicting signals to officers are exactly why Neighborhood Oriented Policing has failed thus far in Greensboro. When officers attempt to broaden their horizons or reach for a unique idea in problem solving and rapport building they are ostracized by Scott if it conflicts with his “One Voice” approach Patrol is the core of every police department. Over the past year internal morale has been ona steady decline due to sweeping changes in the department. It started to take notice when officers were no longer able to stop vehicles for certain traffic infractions, Although arguments can be made determining whether this is good or bad, it killed an officer’s drive to be proactive, Being proactive keeps crime down.Shortly after the traffic stop ban, the department experienced several terminations. To the officers in the field, the firings were unjust as they felt the affected officers, were doing their jobs. Before too long, the climate in the field became hesitant. Officers are hesitant to do anything other than answering calls for service when dispatched. It is not uncommon to see officers sitting in parking lots rather than patrolling neighborhoods. If asked, officers were not afraid to say, "| am not getting jammed up from a complaint when | was just doing my job.” If there were an occasion to sit in on almost any conversation amongst a group of officers, there would never be anything positive said about the current organization. There would be talks of applying to different agencies, lack of trust of the upper level command staff, who is getting fired next, or how much our department has changed since the inception of Chief Scott, Ina patrol lineup, Chief Scott was quoted to say “I won’t let this city burn to save one officer even if the officer is right”. Inconsistent Allocation of Internal Discipline One of the boldest examples just recently occurred in March of 2017. A Hispanic female officer was terminated for a “use of force” violation which involved 2 male suspects, Although routine violations occurred numerous allegations were attached to her file and she was terminated, She was thought to be one of the best officers in the agency. Not long before the female officer’s termination, a white male officer was accused of a use of force violation which involved the Taser. Instead of proceeding with the administrative procedures, Chief Scott met with the Police Association. Chief Scott did not consult with the officer’s Commanding Officer, whom is a black female; he circumvented the administrative process and decided to abruptly cancel the hearing. The hearing for the matter had already been scheduled however it was canceled. Not only was the hearing canceled but the policy was also modified, which led to a more lenient interpretation of the policy and a more appropriate outcome. black female officer reported an assault by a white male officer (not in a relationship) while off duty. The female officer received minor injuries as a result of the assault. The male officer was disciplined accordingly however Chief Scott seized upon the opportunity to also discipline the victimized female. Ultimately the female received the same punishment, which consisted of several days of suspension.Ablack female was off duty visiting a night club when she was confronted by Greensboro police officers. The black female officer was detained against her will for an extended period of time. Instead of receiving an apology, she too was terminated. A black female officer was at home when her apartment manager summoned her for some type of disturbance at her community. Seeing that the female was off duty, she called the Greensboro Police Department. The black female officer was ultimately investigated for handling the call improperly even though she was not on duty, She was placed on Administrative Leave but luckily her employment was spared, however, she did receive discipline, On or about October 2016 information was received that a white male Greensboro Police Officer had been involved with a lawn mower theft ring. Instead of receiving immediate termination, this officer was allowed to remain on the payroll and was also allowed to remain on the premises with full access. He was allowed to remain even though the State Bureau of Investigation had an active investigation in process and he was a prime suspect in the case. This particular officer was allowed to remain on the payroll and premises for S months, It has been alleged that this officer stole a large amount of Police Equipment during his extended stay at the agency. Recruitment and Retention of Officers Officers within any agency serve as its greatest recruiting tool. It is those potential members of the community that are interested in law enforcement that reach out to a friend in law enforcement to get firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of a particular agency. The Greensboro Police Department has experienced an unprecedented spike in experienced and specialized veteran officers that are leaving the agency on a monthly basis. These officers and detectives are forgoing any promotional potential within the agency with the glimmer of a more productive and less stressful environment at other local, state, and federal offices.Vl. We have just recently lost a prominent minority division commanding officer who left to command a police agency actually smaller in size than the police division he was commanding! Chief Scott has told his subordinate officers that “moral is their problem” and that the current national focus on law enforcement officers is to blame. Actually, true leaders attempt to define themselves as the exception, not the rule, True leaders attempt to dispel myths and lead by example through rough ordeals in the media, community, or court system when dealing with a sensitive law enforcement issue as this is. Chief Scott has failed to realize, yet all below him have accepted that he does not possess the necessary traits to boost morale within our agency —he has no concept of the problem in order to begin doing so. Lack of Compassion & Understanding Most recently, the easier ability for officers to increase their earning potential was taken away. Because of minor internal mistakes of a few, the off duty policy was completely overhauled, There was no evidence of any criminal malfeasance. Off duty money afforded officers who didn't wish to seek promotion the opportunity to earn extra income. This is a primarily sensitive issue for Chief Scott as he himself has a conflict of interest in his past working off duty. The Rhinoceros Times wrote an extensive article detailing when he earned $154,000 total salary in one year while earning a base salary of approximately $70,000 as a Lieutenant. The article also noted that with combined salary and additional $84,000 off duty income he earned more money than the current Chief Tim Bellamy that year. His hypocrisy extends further when he attempts to explain this to his subordinate officers stating “I did not violate any policy when | earned that money”. He is absolutely correct. He did not violate a policy because no policy existed to limit his earnings at the time. As an executive officer at the time, would he have even supported such an action? As Chief, he actually changed the policy to be so convoluted that officers were violating it on a regular ba: The reason why is that CI Scott does not want officers to eam as he did himself ~the difference that Scott does not understand is that officers do not desire to purchase mountain and beach property as he did? A motor boat as he did? An airplane as he did? A motorcycle as he did?vill. oversaw the approval and requirements to begin making changes-- he did absolutely nothing to change this pattern of displacement in any years in his tenure. Conclusion The Greensboro Police Department had always been an agency to be proud to be a representative of. Decisions used to be made from a leader with his best interests in mind for the betterment of the officer who would soon utilize the tools necessary to fulfil a mission statement that a leader set forth. Officers were once given the respect and support to achieve those goals. Throughout Chief Scott’s tenure, officers have had concerns regarding his trust, collaboration, decision making, and vision for the future of our department. His lack of true understanding for the minority community was highlighted externally from the beginning of his tenure ~ thi behavior that was unexpected. isnot Officers will always succeed in serving the community in a climate that sustains a passion for learning from one another; citizen to officer and officer to citizen. It is this dialogue that must be framed responsibly from a leader who actually can relate or pull from past experience to share with his subordinates of how to achieve. Chief Scott cannot do this because he has no actual relation or history to the City of Greensboro. Your community is his day job; not a part of his actual life ~no leader can ever be successful with such a limited focus on relationships and change. Strong partnerships are built to in the community to never end; not from someone who is just passing through. Without the recognition of mistakes made or the willingness to listen and adopt your subordinate’s suggestions for the future or this department, there is no hope for learning or improvement and thus no way forward. The failure to recognize and respect the expertise of your community leaders will continue to limit the growth necessary for our department to truly be innovative and accessible by the citizens who will one day police the same streets that we do today. ‘We need a leader; one who actually knows, loves, and cares for this community. It is time for a change in leadership.