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COLUMBUS, Ga. — In the immediate aftermath of police chief Freddie Blackmon accepting a severance package from the city, Mayor Skip Henderson said an interim chief would be appointed ‘almost immediately.’

The following day on April 7, Henderson walked back his words in an interview with WRBL, now saying the interim chief would be appointed in ‘a day or two.’

One week after Henderson’s words, no interim chief has been appointed — though the department is far from leaderless.

Despite Henderson’s delays, the same experienced leaders already within the department — whom officers have already been accustomed to following through the department’s years-long debacle — have continued to do what they always have: lead.

According to sources close to the Muckraker, those experienced leaders include names like Captain Herman Miles, Assistant Chief Debra Kennedy, Assistant Chief Joyce Dent-Fitzpatrick, Deputy Chief Lance Deaton, and many others. 

In the absence of formally-appointed leadership, these officers have continued to do what they do best — and the officers of the department embrace them.

When speaking with officers of the department, the Muckraker has been able to identify a serious concern that arose in several conversations. Officers are extremely worried that bringing in an outsider to serve as an interim chief may seriously wreak havoc on the already-vulnerable department.

Given the backgrounds of us at the Muckraker, we tend to strongly agree with those officers.

Bringing in an outsider to serve as a temporary interim chief would have the extreme likelihood of disrupting daily operations as they currently exist. The time required for an outside interim to get up-to-speed on how the department flows wouldn’t just be inconvenient, but potentially catastrophic.

Leading a martial agency is not as simple as replacing an office manager. ‘Susan’ from HR isn’t strapping a kevlar vest to her chest and holstering a sidearm to follow ‘Replacement Jim’.

Our city’s police officers, on the other hand, are.

A LESSON FROM CURRAHEE

If you’ve ever watched the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers, See: Lt. Norman Dike.

After Easy Company had been through hell together for years, Dike was then stupidly thrown into the mix. To make matters even worse, Dike was proven to be a combat-ineffective leader.

When Dike was relieved from his interim command, another man from within the ranks was formally recognized for having actually led the men of Easy Company. That man was First Sergeant Carwood Lipton.

Lipton was given a combat commission to the rank of Second Lieutenant for having always been who the men of Easy Company truly respected, admired, and turned to when the going got tough.

THE BOTTOM LINE

There is a quote from the late General Colin Powell that perhaps our city’s elected officials should dwell on for a few moments:

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

The opposite is also true: The Leader is the one whom officers continue to bring their problems to because they do have confidence that they can help and they have concluded that they do care.

Find that officer. Appoint them.

You won’t have to look far. They’re already doing it.

We guarantee it.

Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.

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