Oak Ridge Today

MTAS: ORPD review to be extensive, but not clear who will be interviewed

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Oak Ridge Police Department Review Protest

Protesters who want all officers to be able to speak to a consultant reviewing the Oak Ridge Police Department are pictured above outside the Oak Ridge Municipal Building before the Monday night City Council meeting.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:35 a.m. April 20.

The review of the Oak Ridge Police Department will be extensive, but it’s not clear yet who will be interviewed, an official said Friday.

The proposal submitted by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service and approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in March called for interviewing a randomly selected group of police department employees. It also called for interviewing other city employees and officers and possibly talking to community leaders not directly employed by the city.

But some have expressed concern that others who want to speak, including former officers and city residents, might not be able to under the limited 30-day review and random selection proposed by MTAS.

“These men deserve to be heard, all of them,” said Christen Thomas, wife of Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Thomas.

The independent MTAS review will use Police Management Consultant Rex Barton, a former administrative captain for the Athens, Tennessee, Police Department. MTAS is part of the Institute for Public Service at the University of Tennessee. [Read more…]

Police chief denies wrongdoing, no reason for investigation, attorney says

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Tasha Blakney

Tasha Blakney

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi denies any wrongdoing related to the concerns publicly raised in the past two weeks about the Police Department and his leadership, attorney Tasha Blakney said.

“The chief denies that he has been engaged in any wrongdoing at all,” said Blakney, who represents the chief. “Based on my review, I don’t see any reason for an investigation.”

But Akagi will respect the decision of the City Council, assuming the proper process is followed, and he will cooperate with the Council’s decision, Blakney said.

“The chief will respond to whatever City Council requires of him,” she said.

The investigation has been requested by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. It’s on the agenda for tonight’s meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. [Read more…]

Watson has confidence in police chief, no further investigation planned

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was updated at 8:35 p.m. Jan. 31.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Thursday said he has “absolute confidence” in Police Chief Jim Akagi and has no plans to further investigate concerns raised this week by City Council member Trina Baughn.

Baughn raised concerns about the turnover rate in the Oak Ridge Police Department and claims made in a grievance filed by former officer Chris Bayless. In a Sunday email, Baughn said her calculations showed that the police force had lost 30 members in 3.5 years under Akagi, and that equates to 11.7 per year, or an estimated 15 percent turnover rate.

Baughn said some officers who have resigned felt “forced out,” while others who remain are “just counting the days” until they can leave.

“I believe that our turnover issues are not a reflection on the character of the majority of our men and women in blue; rather they are attributable to leadership,” Baughn said in an email to Watson and carbon-copied to Oak Ridge City Council members and reporters.

Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

She said she is ready to help Watson “immediately address these problems and stabilize our police department.”

But city officials questioned Baughn’s numbers and said they don’t think the turnover rate is significantly out of line with what it has been previously. An average of 7.25 employees per year have left in the last four years due to resignations, retirements, or being asked to leave, Watson said Thursday.

“I don’t think it’s a significant change,” he said. [Read more…]

Four ORPD sergeants ask court to order salary increase

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Four veteran Oak Ridge Police Department sergeants, including one who has retired, have asked an Anderson County court to order that their pay be increased to $61,000 per year so they will earn as much as two less-experienced sergeants.

The four sergeants have requested that the pay increase be effective starting Jan. 8, 2012, when they filed a grievance.

They also want the court to overturn or modify a Sept. 7 order from the Oak Ridge Personnel Advisory Board that dismissed their grievance and found no violation of the city’s personnel ordinance.

[Read more…]