Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Gives thanks, says this year’s Police Week a ‘great success’

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Police Week at Oak Ridge Police Department

This month, the law enforcement community celebrated Police Week 2015. For those who do not know, in 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation that designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.

Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, D.C., to participate in a number of planned events that honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Here in Oak Ridge, the Police Department celebrated on a smaller scale, honoring officers everywhere with a ceremony at the Police Station on the 15th. The week was also marked by a proclamation given by the City Council declaring an official Police Week in Oak Ridge.

I represent a group of wives of police officers in Oak Ridge. We worked to make this the best police week ever for our husbands and the rest of our blue family. We organized meals, snacks, and treats for the officers, and hung banners of love and support in the station to let them know we “see them.” [Read more…]

Guest column: Moving forward in Oak Ridge

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With the recent uproar centered around the Police Department in our rear view mirrors, I think it is important to review what was accomplished and why.

The decision to perform a functional audit on the Police Department is a good step especially when taken in context. These kinds of audits focus on best practices, applied over the department’s field of responsibility that need to be reviewed periodically depending on a department’s complexity and size. Besides just by a calendar rotation, other events to trigger such reviews may include leadership turnover in the department to give incoming management a clean slate of actions and priorities.

I believe that since this door has been opened, it would be wise to broaden it city-wide. Think about whether such an audit could have raised awareness of our lack of proper sewer maintenance over the decades and prevented the rush and financial inconvenience that the mandate from the EPA imposes. [Read more…]

Letter: City may need to re-visit possible review board for law enforcement

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To the Editor:

It is well-known that systems are healthier and work better when there is the opportunity for feedback.

The Oak Ridge City Charter provides for a Personnel Advisory Board for both city employees and school employees.

Missing, however, is a board for the members of our Police Department. [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…]

Fallen tree branch causes small electric line fire

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Electric Line Fire on North Seneca Road

A fallen tree limb knocked down a power line on Friday night, starting a small fire in a yard on North Seneca Road.

 

A fallen tree limb knocked down a power line from a utility pole on Friday night, starting a small electric fire in a yard at 150 North Seneca Road.

The Oak Ridge police and fire departments blocked the road until the Oak Ridge Electric Department was able to respond and shut off the power.

The fire was reported at about 11:30 p.m. Friday. It burned for about an hour but did not spread, and firefighters and police officers kept an eye on it while they waited for the power crew.

See another picture here:

[Read more…]

Letter: Citizens Police Academy teaches about protecting, serving

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To the Editor:

The Oak Ridge Police Department has recently announced that it is in the process of recruiting for the 2014 class of the Citizens’ Police Academy. As a graduate of the 2013 class, please allow me to warn prospective applicants what they are in for if they are selected.

You are going to work your butt off. You will not be spending time listening to boring lectures. You will get your hands dirty in various activities from lab work that will make you think you could be a member of C.S.I. to standing on the firing range under a beautiful star-lit sky aiming a Glock service revolver at a target and squeezing the trigger.

You are going to be inundated with paperwork. The realm of research would call it primary source documents from judges, various section heads, representatives of community groups that interact with local law enforcement, and contacts from federal agencies. Trust me, no stone will go unturned. [Read more…]