Fair enough.
Here's my email to KPD, with a copy to one of the Knoxville city councilmen:
To:
[email protected],
[email protected]
CC: Joe Hultquist <
[email protected]>
Like many people across the country, I've been following the events around, to be gentle, Glen Todd Greene's unprofessional and abusive behavior, an example of which (perhaps, possibly, the only such example, although that's not the way to bet) was on display in the recent incident with which I'm sure you're more than familiar.
What is uncontroverted -- and possibly true; not having seen the squad car's video, I don't know, but you do -- is that Mr. Greene threatened a citizen with false imprisonment and invented charges, and that his punishment was only administrative -- a letter in his file that will, at most, have some negative impact on his early promotion opportunities at KPD. (Given Greene's employment history, it's likely that that will be of no importance, as he's likely to move on again.) He was not prosecuted, given unpaid time off, or even required to apologize to his victim privately, much less in a public venue. (Obviously, any sense of personal honor would have already compelled Mr. Greene to apologize for his scurrilous misbehavior.)
A few questions.
Why was this not addressed in the response to the victim? Your Internal Affairs unit referenced his rudeness and ignorance -- and certainly he was both, and more -- but ignored the far more serious offense of threatening false imprisonment and phony charges.
Why was Mr. Greene not disciplined for failing to call for backup? By his own admission, the sight of a pistol on a law-abiding citizen's belt had him in a panic (he accused the victim of creating a panic, but there was no evidence whatsoever that anybody other than Mr. Greene was panicing), but he didn't call for help? Is that possibly acceptable in the KPD?
What if anything, in your professional opinion, will this do to discourage other unprofessional, arrogant officers from engaging in similar activity in the future? Is this sort of misbehavior in KPD so common that punishing it severely would create difficulties in staffing shifts?
Beyond that, as a law enforcement professional, how much do you think Mr. Greene has discredited himself as a reliable witness in future prosecutions by his lies and deceit? What effect do you think this will have on the credibility of other members of your department?
Thanks in advance for your candid replies,
jr