Okay tomahawk, an enhancement in rank is a PROmotion and a reduction in rank is a DEmotion.  Hopefully you are now clear on that point.  Nowhere in my post did I mention the word termination.  I said these captains were threatened with DEmotion and transfer.

As to your assertion that coffey had every right to make political appointments, you are correct.  Never mind the fact that in the history of the Agency, no such sworn officer political hires had ever been made.  If you want to talk about who slapped the already employed hardworking officers of the CCSO in the face, why don’t you ask a few of them.  And what cracker-jack appointments these were.  A pretend major who never made it past the rank of corporal in his career and a “captain” who previously couldn’t make it past the probationary period when he was first hired.  I would have to say that their qualifications are suspect at best.

At least Williams and Eley were commanders and administrators, responsible for both budgets and the supervision of officers.  If, when you talk about them being sneaky you are referring to their time in internal affairs, then I would submit to you that policing the police is a very difficult, unpopular and thankless job.  How else would you attempt to discover what bad cops are doing and how they’re doing it?

An enhancement in rank is only a promotion if the officer is the rank of lieutenant or below. The ranks of Captian and Major are appointed to serve at the pleasure of the sheriff. This means they are political appointments and can be returned to their previous rank at the will of the sheriff. Please refer to the manaul for clarification of this topic. If you have achieved the rank of lieutenant or captain, you should be aware of this policy and how it works.

I am aware you never used the word ‘termination’. I used the example of termination to illustrate the fact that these men did not leave under duress. They left of their own free will.

While we are on the topic of the departure of these men, it should be mentioned that they had an obligation to the officers and non-sworn employees that served under their commands. This obligation is the essence of being a commissioned officer. These Captains abandoned their posts without regard for the interests of the agency as a whole. Their egos and sense of entitlement outweighed their loyalty to their sworn duty. If they chose to retire instead of returning to the rank of lieutenant and continuing on in the Coffey administration, they should have stayed long enough assist in a smooth transition. Instead, they turned their back on -and in some cases insulted- the officers and non-sworn personnel that had no choice but to stay.

You have a right to your opinion on Coffey’s political appointments. I will freely admit they have sparked vigorous debate within the agency. And most officers would have preferred appointments from within.

I am sure you will agree a sheriff needs to be able to trust his executive staff to “have his back” in the county political arena. Did you really expect Coffey to trust captains and a major who signed loyalty statements to Davis and printed it in the paper? Should he have trusted the captains who wrote letters to the editor that questioned Coffey’s professionalism and political motive? Should he have trusted commanders who blatently campaigned for Davis on the job?

Probably not.

My comments about Willaims/Eley’s reputations are simply an assessment of what I hear. I have no personal stories, but the current IA has a reputation for being fair and thorough. The old IA had a reputation for doing whatever Davis told them to do. A man’s conscience can be a heavy burden. Maybe that’s why Williams and Eley considered it such a “difficult, unpopular and thankless job.”

You want to know what really irratates me? The use of insider words. Yup, the use of words or phrases that refer to policies and standards that the general public knows little or nothing about. Internal memos, underhanded or sneaky practices… it just really digs under my skin.
Instead of using terms and phrases that everyday people would come to understand, people who are in power, and are afraid of losing it, well, they come on here and seek to muddy the waters, cloud the everyday citizen’s judgement. That way, they take the normal language off of the table, and replace it with a bunch of terms you need to have ” insider knowldge ” about, and thus taking you, and I, the everday, normal citizens, out of the discussion, and thus away from the issues at hand.

Or how about the folks who are not “in” power, but looking to assume it? Well, they do the same things. These particular folks like to keep the focus on the current administration, sharpshooting their flaws and shortcomings, hoping all the while, you don’t take a peek under their skirts, to see what they may be hiding…..
Being who I am, I choose not to get all wrapped up in the Administrative Policies of the Sheriff’s Office, nor the Political ramblings of a “Sheriff” hopeful. One thing I learned early on in life is, ” if you have no choice BUT to fight, the least you can do is choose the location OF the fight”.

Coffey is fighting like a very desperate man, with his back up against the wall, to save his political career. He’s made some really, really bad choices both when he first assumed his role as sherrif, as well as his subsequent years in office. Now it’s coming back to bite him, and he’s liable to say anything, do anything, to help himself. And those that stand to continuly gain from his position, will do the same.

Those that are not in the ” crystal palace ” will step forward and point, ” THERE!!! There is a shortcoming, a flaw.. look at how they do this, or look at how they don’t do that… ” All the while, hoping to God the public doesn’t focus on them a tiny little bit, or else, like the Wizard in the land of Oz, the curtain comes crashing down.

Personally, I smile. I smile at the accusations of being a “previously jammed up officer” or an “officer who knows one”. That’s cute But all the finger pointing and jumping up and down in the world, will never change the fact that the words I speak are true. And any good investigator will tell you, ” you cannot change the facts”. I wish you all the best, Williams and Eley, and all of their cronies alike, because I am never going to stop trying to derail and destroy your political ambitions in this county. Because as we will ALL soon find out, you are the worst picks for this job.

Tomahawk - 09 September 2009 12:24 PM

And any good investigator will tell you, ”you cannot change the facts”.

That’s true, sort of. It was once fact that the World was flat. It was once fact that the Earth was the center of the universe. These are examples of limited knowledge and information leading to a widely accepted belief—something known or believed to be true. My point is “fact” isn’t always the truth, we don’t have to change the facts to change our understanding of the truth. Any good investigator should understand this, too.

Well Quack, it certainly sounds like tomahawk has some kind of personal ax to grind “I am never going to stop trying to derail and destroy your political ambitions in this county.”  I don’t know, I’m not very smart but why don’t we ask a few questions?

How much did it cost the taxpayers to take all the numbers off the police cars and then turn around and put them all back on?

How much did it cost the taxpayers to replace all the Beretta handguns, which by all accounts were very reliable and working fine, with another make?  Not to mention the cost of ammunition for requalification, new leather gear (holsters), man hours spent on the firing range and training new armorers to repair them.

How much did it cost the taxpayers to take all the red lenses off the police cars and replace them with blue ones?

How much taxpayer money has been and is being spent at Southern Police Supply, a company which is wholly owned and operated by the family of coffey’s “administrative pretend major” who has purchasing authority for the Sheriff’s Office?  A little conflict of interest there or not?

Those are just a few of the questions I and the other citizens of this county who pay taxes should be asking.  But then I wouldn’t expect honest answers from the current administration of the Sheriff’s Office, because that would mean telling the truth and the truth hurts.

The Quack - 09 September 2009 07:59 PM

Tomahawk - 09 September 2009 12:24 PM

And any good investigator will tell you, ”you cannot change the facts”.

That’s true, sort of. It was once fact that the World was flat. It was once fact that the Earth was the center of the universe. These are examples of limited knowledge and information leading to a widely accepted belief—something known or believed to be true. My point is “fact” isn’t always the truth, we don’t have to change the facts to change our understanding of the truth. Any good investigator should understand this, too.

Quack, are you attempting to match wits with me, or challenge me intellectually or something? You’ve got to be kidding me….
” ... fact isn’t always the truth??!!!.... ” What the hell was that? “Fact that the world was flat?”, LMAO ok, ok… I am assuming that you are much, much smarter than this lame post, and so I will grant you a pass on that one….. LOL ( it’s still funny though..)

Anywho… It might sound as if I have a personal axe to grind. But in all honesty, I do not. Now I know many of you may or may not believe me, and I understand. Like I have said before, I am a resonable person. I am grounded in fact and rooted in logic, so I understand. That being said, when you just know, deep down inside, that something is wrong ( in this case Williams and Eley ) then how would you attempt to go about letting others know just how you feel, and what is factually based in your mind?

It takes a little tabasco sauce, to get people to understand. It takes a little aggression, to let people know, that these two clowns are the worst fit in America, to be the next administration for this county. I mean come on, the Coffey whack jobs have done everything short of proclaim themselves ” supreme allied commanders ” of the county, and you’ve got these two, ” whodunits ” pointing fingers, trying to shift the focus off of themselves.

I wish you could just walk up to the next officer you see, and ask them what they think about the current administration. Then just ask them about the Williams & Eley combo. You’d probably get an answer like this:

” I like the former better than the latter, because with Williams and Eley, you would spend the rest of your career ( at least their time ) looking over your shoulder, than doing effective police work.”

I could go on about what you probably would hear, but I’ll save that for later.

Tomahawk

Tomahawk, it’s obvious that you have some sort of axe to grind with
Williams And Ely. They both rose to the rank of Captain, did you even
make it past Corporal? In my humble opinion, Williams is more than
qualified to be Sheriff. I hope he makes it!

While the position of sheriff is an elected position, Gartland did not play the game. Rackey was a probationary officer who, could not complete his probationary period due to poor performance.

Regards

Mayuri

____
dossier surendettement

truthhurts - 10 September 2009 11:02 AM

Well Quack, it certainly sounds like tomahawk has some kind of personal ax to grind “I am never going to stop trying to derail and destroy your political ambitions in this county.”  I don’t know, I’m not very smart but why don’t we ask a few questions?

How much did it cost the taxpayers to take all the numbers off the police cars and then turn around and put them all back on?

How much did it cost the taxpayers to replace all the Beretta handguns, which by all accounts were very reliable and working fine, with another make?  Not to mention the cost of ammunition for requalification, new leather gear (holsters), man hours spent on the firing range and training new armorers to repair them.

How much did it cost the taxpayers to take all the red lenses off the police cars and replace them with blue ones?

How much taxpayer money has been and is being spent at Southern Police Supply, a company which is wholly owned and operated by the family of coffey’s “administrative pretend major” who has purchasing authority for the Sheriff’s Office?  A little conflict of interest there or not?

Those are just a few of the questions I and the other citizens of this county who pay taxes should be asking.  But then I wouldn’t expect honest answers from the current administration of the Sheriff’s Office, because that would mean telling the truth and the truth hurts.

Well, it took me some time but I did some research and found the answers to most of your questions. 

1.  Numbers on cars were not removed.  Newly issued cars did not have an ID number on them at the urging of the FOP for officer safety issues.  After the numbers had been off for a while it was discovered that the officers requested the change to put numbers back on the cars so officers would know who was on the scene with them.  The numbers were also placed on the glass to prevent the damage the numbers caused to the paint of the cars.  I was told that it could take up to an hour to remove numbers when a car was reissued.  Now it takes seconds with a razor blade.  Sounds like a cost savings to me.

2.  The guns and leather were purchased with asset forfeiture funds (Money from drug dealers), not tax dollars.  The timeing was also done to have the officers qualify with the new guns at the same time they were going to have to qualify with the old weapons.  The old weapons were already past the recommended replacement time. Sounds like a good deal to the citizens.  Free Guns and improved officer safety.

3.  The prior administration began buying all blue light bars.  The old light bars called “Vectors” have Lexan covers that over time get cloudy and make the lights less effective, causing an officer safety issue.  All the lenses were replaced instead of buying new light bars.  At a cost of about $36.00 the old light bars looked and worked like new. Wow, officer safety again.  What is it with this Coffey Administration?  Why do they care so much about officer safety?

4.  Can anyone obtain a copy of even one invoice or receipt where the Sheriff’s Office has bought anything from Southern Police Supply since Coffey took over?  I submitted a FOIA to Charles County Finance and was told that none exist. The county does have plenty of invoices from John McConnell for doing framing work when he was a member of the Command Staff. There were also no documents attached that included where quotes from other companies was received.  Gosh, I bet you don’t have a problem with that since McConnell is on Dave Williams election committee.  And that was when Williams was in charge of agency audits.  I guess that one just slipped right through. Wow truthhurts, the truth actually sucks for you. 

Gosh truthhurts, you sound like a SMIB.  Am I close, uh.  I don’t know what you are complaining about.  I have never had any problem getting information from the Sheriff’s Office or the County when I go through the right process.  It is also great to be in a position where people will tell you what to look for and how to get it.

REX COFEY FOR SHERIFF           REX COFFEY FOR SHERIFF       REX COFFEY FOR SHERIFF       REX COFFEY FOR SHERIFF -  The one and only candidate who has the integrity and common sense to be Sheriff.

Here is a bumper sticker that needs to find it’s way into the community.  I got it from a young man who works for the Sheriff’s Office who has extensive knowledge of Dave Williams.

Yes, I agree. Nice sticker. It says it all.

Did anyone go to his fundraiser yesterday?  If so, how was the food?  And more important, how was the turnout?

Now here is a group that Dave Williams should be proud of that endorse him. Mike O’Toole (ha), Sam Graves (we all know about his issues) and Freddy.  I guess we now know for certain what type of administration to expect from Williams.  Can we really afford to go backwards?

Reading everyones post always gives me a good laugh.  Up front I will tell you that I am a, “insider” and it is easy for me to sort through all the BS that people post.  To those who read these posts and don’t know all the details, the people speaking here all have an agenda and like many they spin their idea of what may or may not have happened in the past to suit there needs.

Munch, care to give an example?

No problem Maria.  Let’s just for example take Tomahawk who states,

“I wish you all the best, Williams and Eley, and all of their cronies alike, because I am never going to stop trying to derail and destroy your political ambitions in this county. Because as we will ALL soon find out, you are the worst picks for this job.”

Now, why does Tomahawk have so much animosity toward Williams and Eley?  For many years Williams was the commander of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) or Internal Affairs if you want to call it that.  Eley was also in OPR and served under Williams until Williams left and became the commander of the Patrol Division before his retirement.  Eley then became the Commander of OPR.  Williams and Eley were responsible for investigating complaints on officers for misconduct.  Eley investigated Sam Graves for his deeds which lead to Graves retirement.  You can begin to see why some people dislike Williams and Eley, they were responsible for policing the police.  They held people accountable for their actions to the dismay of others.  Both Williams and Eley retired long before Coffee won his election and I never had a problem with either of them. 

Maria believe it or not most of the Internal Affairs complaints filed against officers come from other officers not the public.  I know some of the people posting things disparaging to others in this forum.  Most of them do this because they feel they have been wronged in some way by someone it the agency.

Munch, as an insider who is the best man for the job, and why? There is not one single candidate out there that does not have skeletons or their distractors. Anyone who runs for public office needs to be prepared for their deepest secrets to come out. Sam Graves is the perfect example of this, however, he was elected anyway. People who work at the Sheriff’s Office are the ones who have to work for whoever the sheriff is. Therefore, I think that they will do or say anything to get “their” candidate elected. Politics can be a dirty business. Wouldn’t you agree??

Munch,
You are wrong.  People don’t dislike them because they did their job in Internal Affairs.  They don’t like them because they lie and are dishonorable men.  Both of them.  Trust me, you will see it all come out in due time.  They have opened a can of worms that I don’t think either one of them will be able to handle.

Honestly, I don’t know who the best man for the job is at this point. I have not been to any fundraisers or spoken to any of the candidates, I always try to keep an open mind, this is politics after all. One thing I will point out is some candidates like to promise things to the Officers that they can’t deliver on. This is done in an attempt to win the endorsement of the FOP, I will be on the lookout for such promises. As officers are interest in the elections go a little deeper than just the crime rate. We will be working for the man or woman who wins. As for being dishonest I can say that I have worked with Eley in the past and found him to be a fair and no nonsense man.

Mr. Jones you are right in the fact that I did not like the photograph of Williams with Graves and the others.  If I were running I certainly would not want that picture out there.

When the time is right I am certain plenty of information about the antics of Williams and Eley will be made public.  They only know one style of management and that is of the past administration.  While on the topic of Eley… since when does the Sheriff seek the office with a running mate.  State ethics clearly state that promises of positions are a clear violation.  I’m not surprised, since when does Williams worry about ethics?

Look real close at the sign posted below.  Do you notice that he is using Fred Davis’ signs as backings for his signs?  I recently heard a hard core Republican say that Dave Williams told him that he is going to switch parties right after the General Election if he wins.  That seems to be why he is getting Fred’s support.

Here is another picture of Dave Williams with his pal Len Collins.  Len is apparently supporting Dave too.  We all know how hated len Collins is by 99% of the cops and 99% of the public.  His endorsement really helped Fred 4 years ago.

Another pompus ass I am glad to see leaving.

Ok, I am not a member of the CCSO but have worked with both administrations (Davis & Coffey).  I don’t know first hand how members of the CCSO feel about any of the candidates.  I do know first hand that Coffey is more up front and honest.  He is a little rough around the edges but holds the good of the county and the CCSO at the front of his administration.  With Davis it was always a guessing game.  Watch your back and try and figure out what is the real issue and objective he had.  I also found this was the case with many in his administration including Williams and others. Promises were made and broken many times over during the Davis years.  These had little impact on me after I learned how they operated as I didn’t count on anything they said or promised. Laying out the facts as I was exposed to them.