Mayor-elect, police chief meet ... and that's it

ST. PETERSBURG -- Mayor-elect Bill Foster and Police Chief Chuck Harmon met Tuesday morning and chatted -- and that's all they did.

The incoming mayor and the incumbent chief met didn't make any decisions about the future of of the St. Petersburg Police Department, Harmon said. They didn't discuss policy or reconcile their differing opinions of how to best police the city.

At least not yet.

"It was a good philosophical discussion," Harmon said. "We took an hour to talk about (city) issues. We said we'd work hard for the future and we look forward to working together and that's it."

Which means that, as expected, Harmon will remain as police chief.

During the campaign Foster said he has "100 percent" confidence in the chief. Harmon also signaled that he was far more willing to work with Foster than his opponent, Kathleen Ford.

But Foster and Harmon differ on several key policing issues.

It was Ford who actually supported Harmon's chase policy, which allows officers to engage in high-speed pursuits to chase violent or dangerous suspects, but not burglars or car thieves.

Foster, though, said he'd loosen up the policy to give officers more discretion to chase suspects. That's what the police unions want, and they backed Foster.

Foster also wants a return of the old community policing model, where certain neighborhoods were assigned their own individual officers. Harmon changed the program in 2006, saying it was inefficient and hurt morale.

The current model spreads community policing responsibilities among several units, including patrol officers. Changing back to the old model, though, could require hiring more officers.

But none of those issues came up Tuesday, the chief said. They talked more about the direction of the city then the direction of the Police Department.

"I'm very encouraged by my conversation with Mr. Foster," Harmon said. "He seems to be very flexible. I think there's some room for common ground on both sides."

Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

Comments

[Meet the new boss, just like the old boss]

Whoa! The status quo. No way!

Nothin' like gettin' more of the same.

[Buyer's Remorse Much?]

When will I see high speed pursuits up and down 4th St? To HELL with the innocent public, we're going to catch them there godless window breakers at any cost!!!

Is it too late for a re-vote?

[Right on sister...]

Kathleen, if no one else will listen, I will... It's barely a week since Mr. Foster's election and you are condemning his reaching out. You go girl... I might vote for you in eight years if you keep it up... I said might.

[Dust]

Now crawl back under your rug. See you in 2017.

[Allan]

Public Announcement:

The St. Petersburg Committee to Push for as Close to a Nazi Government as We Can Get hereby commends mayor-elect Bill Foster for his decision to keep police chief Chuck Harmon in place. We are conferring our award for Facilitation of Bringing Closer a St. Petersburg Nazi-type Government on mayor-elect Foster for his decision.

Police Chief Harmon by his admirable Nazi-like activities of inciting the most violent and aggressive kinds of police violence and police tactics against entirely peaceably vigiling and simply standing peace activists on the once-public sidewalk in front of Bay Walk over several years has helped contribute toward fulfillment of the aim and goal of the St. Petersburg Committee to Push for as Close to a Nazi Government as We Can Get. We particularly remember, with heartfelt thanks, police chief Harmon's strong and aggressive incitement in the St. Petersburg City Council subcommittee hearing deliberating on proposed police barricades favored by police chief Harmon in 2005 and 2006 police chief Harmon's strong expressions not only of support for the barricades, at that time an issue in controversy, but his incitement and advocacy and following of policies of having the police deliberately ticket car motorists for doing nothing but honking their horns in public solidarity with anti-war signs held up by protesters at that time, and also police chief Harmon's carrying out policies of arresting anti-war protesters for doing nothing but saying some slogan too loudly for the liking of the police.

We also fondly remember the times in which St. Petersburg police have shot down black unarmed St. Petersburg young people, again incited by their police captain. We in the St. Petersburg Committee to Push for as Close to a Nazi Government as We Can Get find ourselves very happy and very satisfied with the violent racist nature of such crimes of police violence against racial minorities, and commend police chief Chuck Harmon for them.

But we are again happy that newly elected mayor-elect Foster has demonstrated his willingness to follow the same general trend toward an outright Nazi-type of government followed by his predecessors in the previous 20 years here in St. Petersburg.

Thank you, mayor-elect Foster.

--Adolph Heidler the Third, president, St. Petersburg Committee to Push for as Close to a Nazi Government as We Can Get

[in the spirit of gonzo and in memory of Hunter S. Thompson--A.]

[to: Allan]

Allan, considering you chose to NOT vote. Why don't you NOT speak?

Terri

[Allan]

Terri:

I understand that the St. Petersburg Committee to Push for as Close to a Nazi Government as We Can Get is now considering conferring its award on you for that comment you made to me in your post.

Thank you, Terri, for writing in the Nazi spirit of totalitarian crushing of views you hate, and favoring selective "rights" of free speech depending on what political action one takes in one's life.

The laundry called, Terri. They said your Nazi brown shirt is ready.

--Allan

[A. Resident]

We need top down changes at the PD to assure the safety of our neighborhoods.

We need leadership who is not so afraid of a special interest group that they fail to provide even basic policing in our southern communitities.

We need leaders who will see past race and judge each officer on their own merits - no more "protected classes" within the PD.

We need to get back to broken windows -and that has to be more than a catch phrase. Prostitution, drug dealing, vandalism, loitering and other "passive" crimes tend to represent the tip of the iceberg. These crimes need to be addressed before they evolve into bigger problems, as they have in the past.

We need leaders at the PD and the city who will work with the judiciary to assure offenders are not released before the paperwork on their arrest is complete. We keep arresting the same people for the same offenses and withholding adjudication. This must end.

We need neighborhood leaders who acknowledge they have a role to play - our neighborhood associations have to have active crimewatches and safety plans in place. But the city needs to assure these efforts are not a waste of time - which is the sentiment in our neighborhoods under the current administration.

We need our new mayor to have a vision for this community and the confidence to act on it.

Harmon has demonstrated he is not willing to change, it's his way or the highway - for this voter, it is time for him to exercise the second option.

[Cathy Wilson]

We need far more than just a new Chief and a reformed Police Department to effect the tenets of Broken Window Theory. We also need a strong, proactive Codes Compliance Department, a Nuisance Abatement Board with teeth and a group of city attorneys who are willing to risk a lawsuit or two of behalf of the residents instead of just the big business interests in our town. Foster's "meetings" have just begun if he's seriously going to tackle the issues here,,,

[Images from Election Day 2009.]

Images from Election Day 2009. http://bit.ly/1RX8F8

[Images from Election Day 2009.]

Images from Election Day 2009. http://bit.ly/1RX8F8