The Columbus Civil Service Commission tabled action Thursday on proposed changes to allow lateral hiring after police officers assured them they have the education and experience to fill the department’s upper ranks.
Police Chief Selvain McQueen asked for the change so he can recruit experienced officers.
As civil service requirements stand, any officer who joins the department must start as a patrolman. The change would allow a new officer joining the force from another law enforcement agency to retain his rank. The Columbus City Council earlier approved the changes.
Commissioners granted the nearly 20 officers in attendance the right to speak before their vote.
Patrolman Greg Harstad took the opportunity to voice concerns that despite his education and service with another law enforcement agency, he has been passed over in requests to be assigned to the Columbus Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.
Harstad, who has been with the police department for about two years, said he is a crash investigator. He’s had police training from the federal National Security Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, he said. He also retired from the military and has a master’s degree.
McQueen said two-thirds of the department’s 68 officers have five years or less in service. Of the 12 officers working as shift supervisors, nine are eligible for retirement now.
The change would also give him an opportunity to hire a second assistant chief.
Assistant Chief Joe Johnson would not be affected by the change, he assured commissioners.
Resident questions officers’ qualifications
The question of experience and education came into play after Columbus resident Leon Speck questioned officers’ abilities.
Speck pointed to three murders in six days in September 2011 and older unsolved murders along with routine assaults where no one has been arrested.
“I think that there’s something wrong somewhere in this police department,” he said.
Officers’ actions haven’t proven to him they are qualified, he said, adding he supports McQueen and the proposal.
Officer Rick Jones, a shift supervisor, said he has degrees in criminal justice and public administration. He’s been employed by the department for 15 years and previously worked as an investigator.
Senior Patrolman Wade Beard said he’s been on the promotion list since 1998. No officers have been promoted to corporal since 1998, and no officers have been promoted to sergeant since 2004, he said.
Beard is doing the work of shift supervisor but not getting the rank, he said.
“We’ve got good, qualified people in this department,” Beard added, noting hiring senior officers from other departments is a slap in the face.
A lack of promotions means officers cannot get into advanced training programs, he said in response to Speck’s comment about officers’ education and training levels.
Outside hiring won’t solve problem
Cpl. Donnie Elkin said hiring officers from other departments isn’t the answer. Twenty-five percent of the current force came from other departments, Elkin said.
“It hasn’t helped us a lick,” he added.
The problem, he said, is a lack of internal promotions and pay. Beard said a rookie officer working for Mississippi University for Women makes more than him, though he has 20 years of experience.
Elkin has 21 years of experience and said he’s been a corporal since 1997 and on the sergeant’s promotion list for 11 months.
Officers who started with Columbus and moved to other departments have been promoted into higher ranks by the other agencies, he said.
Beard said outside officers should start at the bottom like he did.
They gotta earn their right to be in the Columbus Police Department,” he said.
He said no other police department in the state offers lateral hiring.
Regular promotions could solve dilemma
The discussion then turned to promotion delays. Officers said they are not blaming McQueen.
Former Police Chief Joseph St. John, who writes a Columbus blog, said Mayor Robert Smith personally held up promotions.
“He lied,” Smith said of St. John’s comments. “He never did turn in a list. Can he produce a backup copy?”
The Columbus City Council fired St. John in July. St. John was police chief from 2007 to 2011.
“I think this discussion should have happened at City Council,” commission member Thomas Moore said.
McQueen said the council discussed the department’s performance in an executive session, but no officers attended the meeting to speak about proposed changes.
Officers said they weren’t given the opportunity.
“We did not hear them, and I think now that might have been a mistake,” said Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box, who attended Thursday’s meeting.
The commission unanimously passed a motion to table the changes, adding they hope the City Council will revisit them.
Box said he would ask council to do so.
After the meeting, he said, “I never dreamed that one of our corporals has been on the promotion list since 1997.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.