Questioning the wisdom of photo enforcement can be fatal to the career of a top law enforcement official. Former Texas police Chief Michael Clancey found this out the hard way when he dared to suggest that the College Station City Council should not use red light cameras as a budgetary tool. Clancey filed a lawsuit in federal court last month demanding punitive damages and back wages from the city which, he claimed, violated his First Amendment rights.
From Clancey’s lawsuit:
When the city first considered implementing red light cameras, the program was justified as a revenue-generating program, and was listed for public discussion and comment on the city council docket. Clancey voiced his opposition to the description of the program, explaining that he believed the red light project should be based upon concerns for public safety. This matter was not raised by Clancey in his official capacity. Rather, Clancey expressed his opinion as a citizen of College Station.
According to the suit, City Manager Glenn Brown and Assistant City Manager Kathy Merrill retaliated by giving Clancey a sharply negative performance review.
Mr Brown and Ms Merrill failed to provide any details for how Clancey could improve his performance. Rather, Clancey was simply told to improve his performance by November 1, or he would be subject to termination, and provided no direction that would allow him to meet management’s expectations.
Clancey claimed that he never had a chance to defend himself to city officials before he was given the choice of resigning or being fired on October 26, 2007. Clancey chose to cite “family reasons” and resign.
Clancey’s dilemma sheds light on the difference in opinion regarding photo ticketing in the law enforcement community. Top brass, represented by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, not only endorse the use of red light cameras and speed cameras, the organization makes money from “certification” of the devices.
On the other hand, officers in the field tend to oppose automated ticketing machines. The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, for example, represents over 2600 police officers in Phoenix, Arizona. The group recently testified against the state’s photo radar program.
Clancey started his law enforcement career thirty years ago in Alexandria, Virginia, where he rose from beat cop to captain before taking the job of chief in Westerville, Ohio, in 1999. Clancey took the higher-profile College Station job in 2005. The crime rate dropped sixteen percent during his tenure.
For its part, College Station officials released an internal affairs report attacking Clancey for his involvement in the cancellation of a “failure to obey a police officer” ticket issued by a rookie officer on October 9, 2007 to the daughter of a police lieutenant. The report was finalized after Clancey was forced to quit.
Yes, it certainly is unheard of and inappropriate for cops to make tickets go away for certain people.
This guy got railroaded, plain and simple. I still can’t believe anyone claims that speed- and redlight cameras are for anybody’s safety with a straight face. Most traffic enforcement for minor violations is a revenue grab, plain and simple.
While I realize that “anecdote” does not equal “evidence,” my girlfriend and I at different times have gotten tickets for things like failing to dim high beams fast enough for the (NY) trooper’s liking and for license plate frames (dealer installed). Both of those were surprisingly expensive tickets (~$90 or so).
So do we believe the paper trail quickly assembled by local political mgt, as valid justification for firing, or do we believe the career cop fired for publicly asking for good governance? You will seldom be wrong assuming political leadership deliberately selects the wrong answer on any question.
I’m with the cop here.
I predict he will get $ from a settlement.
Law enforcement should never be a profit center. That just invites abuse.
Government and money. It is never wise to stand in the way of a bulldozer.
ray_g:
So your saying we need to ask City Manager Glenn Brown and Assistant City Manager Kathy Merrill what they drive, and how many.
postman:
Or a blank-check policy.
Jeez, it’s bad enough that strong unions and coverups keep the bad cops from being fired, but now the GOOD cops are being fired?
If the facts are in line with what is summarized above then hopefully College Station will have to issue an 8-figure apology to Police Chief Michael Clancey.
An 8-figure apology?
I wouldn’t give him a penny.
He has a right to free speech. He doesn’t have a right to be police chief.
If, from how he talks, he appears not to be fully committed to the city council’s scheme for plugging the holes in their budget (however misguided that scheme may be), then he just might be on his way to getting canned.
The guy speaks out in public against policies he is charged with carrying out. When he turns in a lousy performance carrying out those policies and gets shitcanned, he thinks he’s been wronged and wants a big fat settlement.
If the city council wants to enact stupid policies, it’s their right. If they want to fire the police chief for not aggressively carrying out their stupid policies, it’s also their right.
Does this guy not understand how the world works?
Now, maybe there’s more to this story. Maybe they slandered/libeled him in the reasons they gave for dismissing him. Maybe there are clauses in his contract that were violated when he got fired.
But absent that, I don’t see how he’s got a case.
We’re coming up on two years since his firing. Another sign of a weak case.
Cashmoney:
Yeah, an 8-figure apology, for violating his First Amendment freedom of speech rights.
The Supreme Court agreed with you, actually on point, back in 1892 (when the Supreme Court was also ok with segregation and women not having a right to vote), but you’re wrong now:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/publicemployees.htm
The government is not a private employer, when it fires people for what they say it is suppressing freedom of speech.
If this guy actually did something wrong fine, but it looks like College Station fired him for trumped-up reasons because it knew it couldn’t fire him for speaking out against the red light program.
And nobody really cares what you would give him, a career officer speaking out against government corruption will do quite well with a Texas jury.
Despite the state’s rugged image (or maybe because of it, the tort system has always been an alternative to overreaching government regulation) Texas juries are notorious for giving huge sums to plaintiffs that they like.
@postman
It is never wise to stand in the way of a bulldozer.
Better to lie down in front of the bulldozer, then convince the government foreman to take your place while you go fetch a pint.
It’s city politics, not necessarily his speaking out about the red light program. Probably more to it, but yeah, for the sake of this post and because it is specifically mentioned in the lawsuit, talking about the red light cameras is somehow part of it.
Here’s another story from the local TV station:
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/11565786.html
Glowing reviews his first two years, then suddenly a vague ‘if we don’t have confidence in your leadership, we reserve the right to terminate,’ when just a year before he was a “tremendous asset.”
They didn’t install the first cameras until months after he was terminated (not until 2008).
the way i look at it is that Hitler fired a lot of his lieutenants who didn’t tow the party line (and worse)
i’m sure the US Army had to sift thru a lot of people before they found the ‘right’ kind of person to run Gitmo and Abu Ghraib
texas and other local council ‘organs’ (!!!) are really no different
You want justice? Do not reelect incumbents.