COLUMBUS — Police Chief Selvain McQueen will be discussing a new organizational chart for the Columbus Police Department during Tuesday’s city council meeting. McQueen said the chart, if passed by the council, will provide restructuring within his department.
“This is an effort to streamline the police department and make it more effective and more efficient,” McQueen said. “This will change who reports to whom and how things are done. It will allow me to hire another assistant chief, which we need, and a commander of criminal investigation.”
McQueen, who has been openly criticized by several of his officers for his policy changes, said the proposed changes were the outcome of a “summit” with some of his employees.
“I got together with my command staff and we discussed making some changes in the police department,” he said. “The end result of this summit is the new organizational chart. I had assistance in creating this chart; this isn’t something I did by myself.”
If the organizational chart gets approval from the council, McQueen said revamping the department’s handbook is his next goal.
“My next project is to redo the standard operation manual, which may not be popular with some of my officers, but it has got to be done,” he explained. “I have never agreed with having a dog ride around on patrol with officers. The dog needs to be assigned to narcotics where it can be used to its potential. I also have plans to create a team to address problems, within the department, in specific areas; this will be my ‘hit squad.’ Every good police department needs one.”
McQueen said the changes will coincide with his controversial lateral transfer policy. The hiring policy was sent by the council to the Civil Service Commission in February after Mayor Robert Smith cast the tie-breaking vote. It allows new employees to enter the police department with transferred ranks from outside departments, and it has been unpopular with many of McQueen’s officers, who claim they are being overlooked for promotions. CPD Officer Wade Beard challenged McQueen publicly on the lateral hiring policy.
“When (McQueen) says that he’s not going to promote anyone in the department, it’s killing the morale of the department,” Beard said at the February Civil Service Commission meeting. “Morale is at an all time low. We’re dying y’all. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
The Columbus City Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Municipal Complex.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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