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The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is "in crisis."
So concluded the El Dorado County Grand Jury in its latest report released Tuesday.
The report focuses much of its attention on an alleged September 2006 incident between a resident and SLTPD Chief Terry Daniels. Several South Lake Tahoe citizens said they witnessed the verbal altercation during breakfast at a local restaurant.
The incident led the report to admonish Daniels by saying he "displayed conduct unbecoming a police officer."
The report also expressed concern about a climate survey summary of the police department issued last October, which paints a negative picture of department morale.
The summary, which was well-documented in this newspaper, prompted the report to conclude that "many of the statements made by members of the SLTPD and information gathered through documents can only be classified as troubling."
The restaurant incident, if the allegations are true, is inexcusable but not particularly surprising. For one, Daniels had only been department chief for two months in September 2006 and was, and still is, feeling his way as a supervisor.
That he may have let his temper get the best of him is certainly unprofessional, but not unheard of for public officials under considerable pressure. At the very least, Daniels should have learned from the alleged altercation, apologized and made sure he kept his cool from then on.
The department's morale, however, is another matter.
Daniels freely admitted in a recent Tribune article that he's burning out his officers because his department is understaffed. We applaud him for acknowledging what his officers know to be true.
But current officers the Tribune interviewed contended that neither the staff shortage nor contentious contract negotiations over the past year colored their comments about department morale.
Daniels must turn this around quickly before more officers seek jobs elsewhere.
The grand jury report suggests these measures:
-- Revitalize the department's Participative Management Team. The PMT, which has languished the past few years, is an organizational structure allowing employee input into department decision-making.
Daniels has indicated the future of the PMT will not be decided until the fall.
-- Send police leadership to training that includes strategic management, leadership, coaching, business management, anger management and human-skills development.
-- Ensure that the City Council and city manager take "proactive measures" to oversee the police department. The measures should include a collective agreement between the city manager, City Council and the police chief on the police department's organizational structure.
The grand jury recommended that Daniels and the city manager meet monthly to discuss the performance of the police department.
-- Direct Daniels to write three- and five-year strategic plans for the department and make them publicly available. The plans should address the department's confidence in senior management, cynicism, morale, vision and values.
The city has 90 days to respond to the grand jury recommendations. The response will then be forwarded to the City Council for review.
Given the common-sense practicality of the grand jury recommendations, it shouldn't take the city nearly 90 days to formulate a response. The City Council then should waste no time approving the measures.
Our city depends on an efficiently functioning, stable and content police department. Our citizens deserve nothing less.
So concluded the El Dorado County Grand Jury in its latest report released Tuesday.
The report focuses much of its attention on an alleged September 2006 incident between a resident and SLTPD Chief Terry Daniels. Several South Lake Tahoe citizens said they witnessed the verbal altercation during breakfast at a local restaurant.
The incident led the report to admonish Daniels by saying he "displayed conduct unbecoming a police officer."
The report also expressed concern about a climate survey summary of the police department issued last October, which paints a negative picture of department morale.
The summary, which was well-documented in this newspaper, prompted the report to conclude that "many of the statements made by members of the SLTPD and information gathered through documents can only be classified as troubling."
The restaurant incident, if the allegations are true, is inexcusable but not particularly surprising. For one, Daniels had only been department chief for two months in September 2006 and was, and still is, feeling his way as a supervisor.
That he may have let his temper get the best of him is certainly unprofessional, but not unheard of for public officials under considerable pressure. At the very least, Daniels should have learned from the alleged altercation, apologized and made sure he kept his cool from then on.
The department's morale, however, is another matter.
Daniels freely admitted in a recent Tribune article that he's burning out his officers because his department is understaffed. We applaud him for acknowledging what his officers know to be true.
But current officers the Tribune interviewed contended that neither the staff shortage nor contentious contract negotiations over the past year colored their comments about department morale.
Daniels must turn this around quickly before more officers seek jobs elsewhere.
The grand jury report suggests these measures:
-- Revitalize the department's Participative Management Team. The PMT, which has languished the past few years, is an organizational structure allowing employee input into department decision-making.
Daniels has indicated the future of the PMT will not be decided until the fall.
-- Send police leadership to training that includes strategic management, leadership, coaching, business management, anger management and human-skills development.
-- Ensure that the City Council and city manager take "proactive measures" to oversee the police department. The measures should include a collective agreement between the city manager, City Council and the police chief on the police department's organizational structure.
The grand jury recommended that Daniels and the city manager meet monthly to discuss the performance of the police department.
-- Direct Daniels to write three- and five-year strategic plans for the department and make them publicly available. The plans should address the department's confidence in senior management, cynicism, morale, vision and values.
The city has 90 days to respond to the grand jury recommendations. The response will then be forwarded to the City Council for review.
Given the common-sense practicality of the grand jury recommendations, it shouldn't take the city nearly 90 days to formulate a response. The City Council then should waste no time approving the measures.
Our city depends on an efficiently functioning, stable and content police department. Our citizens deserve nothing less.
