Mayor's crime plan turns to bickering : Police, housing authority officials not sure how to implement ideas
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer
Published September 16, 2007
It started with a plan to fight crime in Annapolis.
Responding to citizen concerns, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer announced a series of public safety initiatives last month to make Annapolis safer.
One month later, however, police and housing authority officials say they haven't received guidance on how to implement her ideas.
And questions about her initiatives have met with quick barbs from the mayor.
"We need to sit down," said Police Chief Joseph S. Johnson, explaining he has several questions for the mayor.
He said Friday he doesn't know how to pay for the four Segways and horse that are part of the mayor's plan, let alone when Ms. Moyer expects them to be on the streets.
"How do we put this in the budget, secure these things, train these people ... It's not something we can run out and do in the next month," Chief Johnson said. "What timeline is she expecting?
"And Annapolis Housing Authority President Eric Brown wrote Ms. Moyer a letter on Wednesday asking for "additional direction" on what she wants in a new agreement of understanding to address crime in the city's public housing communities.
"This is the kind of disconnect we really don't need," said Alderman David Cordle, R-Ward 5. Mr. Cordle is head of the city's Public Safety Committee and a possible mayoral candidate in 2010.
Ms. Moyer said Friday she's still upbeat about her plans, and that her staff already is working to recruit new officers to fill 23 open positions and change the number of shifts officers work from five to three.
Still, she said most of the purchases she called for are a year away.
"He (Chief Johnson) needs to advise me on the budgetary issues," she said.
As for the housing authority agreement, Ms. Moyer said she's sent two letters to Mr. Brown about what she wants.
"I guess he doesn't know how to read," she said.
A short news release put out by the city Tuesday revealed the first cracks in Ms. Moyer's public safety plan.
Ray Weaver, a city spokesman, said the city Police Department was preparing to implement a key element of her new public safety plan - teaming with the Drug Enforcement Administration to fight the drug trade in Annapolis.
Mr. Weaver said the mayor was confident that this new membership in a DEA task force would let the city's police officers double the 275 drug arrests they made in 2006.
The announcement, however, was a decade late and in the eyes of Chief Johnson, overly optimistic.Local and federal officials confirmed this week the city joined the DEA's State and Local High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force at least 10 years ago.
And Chief Johnson said Friday the task force will not accomplish what the mayor wants."It's not going to double the arrest rate," he said.
"It's going to enhance the quality of investigations."
Ms. Moyer backed off her spokesman's statements Friday, saying she always knew the department worked with the DEA task force. She said last week's news release, as well as another Aug. 23 release asking police to initiate a "new illegal drugs and illegal guns task force" - were about the city ramping up their old "liason" relationship with the DEA and the chief signing a new two-year agreement with the federal authorities. She said the new agreement will bring a "renewed emphasis" to Annapolis and take down the city's larger drug dealers.
"I want a more vigorous dedication to undercover activities," she said Friday, noting federal authorities haven't had a large scale drug bust in the city for about four years.
City police Lt. Brian Della said the city is asking the DEA to put more of an emphasis on Annapolis, but stressed there is no guarantee.
Chief Johnson said an officer has been detailed to the task force for a "majority" of the past several years and that to an outside observer, little will change under the "new" agreement.
"They (the DEA) have always been a good partner to us," Chief Johnson said.
Special Agent Ed Marcinko, a DEA spokesman, reiterated the task force is not changing how it investigates drugs and identifies drug dealers.
"It's business as usual," he said.
As for the city doubling the number of drug arrests - and the chief's skepticism - Ms. Moyer remained upbeat it will happen.
"Is that practical? I don't know. I think it is practical," she said.
Critics say Ms. Moyer's gaffe in announcing a task force 10 years late illustrates how out of touch she is with what is happening at her police department.
"It (the task force) has been happening and everyone seems to know it besides her," said Mr. Cordle, echoing the private comments of several other local officials.Mr. Weaver and Ms. Moyer blamed Chief Johnson for the flub. They said the chief forwarded Ms. Moyer a copy of the DEA agreement last week, along with a hand-written note.
"In keeping with the objectives of your 5-pt plan in fighting crime, I've already established a federal and state drug task force with our narcotics people," he wrote.
Chief Johnson said Friday he never intended to mislead the mayor into thinking this was a new task force. He said he used the word "already" last week to imply this was in place before she asked for it.Chief Johnson agreed with Mr. Cordle that Ms. Moyer doesn't always know how the department works, but said "it's not her place to know."
That said, Chief Johnson said he doesn't always know what the mayor wants when she issues orders and launches public safety initiatives.
He said when Ms. Moyer returned from Europe in August, she proposed a five-point public safety plan, called for a new agreement with the City's Housing Authority, asked him to join the task force and to form a special police recruitment committee. The orders, he said, were short on guidance.
For example, Chief Johnson said he met with Mr. Brown and City Attorney Shaem C. Spencer Tuesday about the new agreement Ms. Moyer wants with the housing authority. When they got in the room together, no one understood what they were really supposed to be doing, he said.
Ms. Moyer said she's not yet heard what happened at that meeting, but said she's been clear and quipped about Mr. Brown not knowing how to read.
Mr. Brown said such comments are "beneath the dignity of her office."
"I consider it offensive and insulting," he said.Mr. Brown added he's tried to meet face-to-face with the mayor for the past month, but been unable to schedule a meeting.
Ms. Moyer's public safety plan itself isn't getting the warmest reception either.
Chief Johnson said he's not sure about the horse, although he can see some use around City Dock and for community relations.
And Mr. Cordle said he flat out opposes her proposed Segways and mounted unit.
"It (a horse) is ridiculous from a cost stand point," he said, proposing that money would be better spent raising the entry level salaries of city police officers.
"I think we need to get to the basic root of the problem by getting more officers on the streets."
"Detective Jim Lee, the president of the city police union, likes that the mayor is focusing on crime and "applauds" the city's continued dedication to working with the DEA.
"We are certainly glad that everyone has jumped on the crime wagon," he said.
He said the key to success is in more feet on the street though - not "new" task forces, Segways, and horses.
"The way to really change is by filling the (23) vacancies," he said.
