Democratic mayoral hopeful Melina Kennedy
joined a chorus calling for the firing of Public Safety Director Frank Straub. "We have to see some leadership. This is too important, and I think changes are in order," Kennedy said. Mayor Greg Ballard is standing behind the egghead for now. "Director Frank Straub and his efforts to reform the Public Safety Department and fight crime in our city have my full support," Ballard said. Those of us who supported Ballard's election only to be betrayed by him are certainly not going to stand in the way of him continuing his rapid descent into political oblivion. Straub is giving no signs of giving up his position either. He says he's in the job for the "long haul," which means the number of days before the next election when voters send Ballard and his corrupt administration packing.
Straub needs to be fired, post haste! This New York liberal just doesn't understand our community values.
ReplyDeleteHe is an incompetent manager, lacks moral courage, and is nothing but a liberal politician!
Frank Straub ordered the Chief of Police to demote his excellent staff in order to kiss up to the black ministers. The staff had done nothing deserving of demotion! They did their job and did it well. They apparently had the respect of the troops. Straub ordered their removal to kiss ass.
Straub did NOT let them have the chance to achieve their goals/objectives, because Straub wants to kiss the ignorant black ministers' asses.
Straub is a failure as a manager, and is clearly NO LEADER!
What is really funny is that Straub is obviously a staunch Democrat, displaying his photo with Dems in news photos....and it is a Dem that wants him to go.
Frank Straub, Indianapolis doesn't need you! Your service no longer wanted here.
One consideration: Frank Straub interfered with the operation of the Police Dept yet again, and ordered the Chief to demote the competent commanders who had respect of their troops in order to appease black ministers.
ReplyDeleteI say it's time for the Mayor to REMOVE FRANK STRAUB for incompetence, lack of leadership, lack of moral courage!
A libertarian friend of mine asked if I would support Kennedy over Ballard. The answer is I probably wouldn't vote or might vote for the Libertarian because he/she is not Ballard.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is that if the city is going to be run with corruption, insider dealing as has been the case the last 2 1/2 years, I'd rather it be done with a Democrat in charge than a Republican. I hate the fact that the Republican Party will be carry the Ballard baggage in 2011. The guy has been a disaster.
Director Straub, whoops, I mean Dr.Straub, refers to "bumps in the road" during his administration. Well, I guess the citizens ran over by the drunk cop were "bumps in the road" so to speak. How dare this doctor refer to killed and maimed citizens as "bumps in the road". Mr. Mayor, if you want to save the city's reputation and restore a positive image of the IMPD, get rid of the Doctor and his puppet Chief. Wake Up! Nothing less will do!
ReplyDeleteI'm torn on this.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot more crap coming to light since he's been here. At the same time, I'm not impressed with his spending money on staff, offices, or the homeland security black hole.
Look, we need someone who can shake things up a bit. Things are just a little to cozy in IMPD.
We also need someone who can cut costs, reduce duplication, reduce overhead, etc.
IFD is a sacred cow... but let's be honest, we've come a long way with fire safety, electrical codes, vehicle safety etc. I get the impression that we have reduced the need for a fire station on every block, but are unwilling to cut back on equipment or men.
I feel like there is a "law enforcement, homeland security, and fire safety industry" that's not really rushing out to put itself out of business and nobody is really willing hold the management accountable. Don't get me started on privatized jails, bail laws, etc.
If we actually solved more "petty" crimes such as burglary, assaults, etc. we'd have a lot less crime in general.
Indy4U2C:
ReplyDeleteThe NY Liberal crap is BS. Really!
If anything would be helpful right now it's someone who doesn't understand our "community values". I'm just a little tired of the good-old-boy network... if you don't understand that, go replay the video of Jack Cottey picking up his car.
The "bump in the road" comment is pretty insensitive. And I don't give a damn about the black ministers... but a lot of people screwed up with the drunk cop . In business, if you screw up like that you get fired, not demoted.
I have a problem with the changes being announced by Straub. That should be the Chief's job - even if Straub was telling him to do it. If the Chief is going to appear to have any authority, it should appear to be coming from him.
Normally a new leader needs to be given some time and political support to shake things up. The problems that we are seeing aren't new... the drunk cop has been drinking for a very long time.
It's tough to argue that at the very least the blood draw and the investigation was badly mishandled and incompetent - and at worst was a cover-up. There's no question that this is just one of several recent incidents that have shaken the public confidence in IMPD. (Let's not forget about the arsonist, the scrap metal deal, the cop discharging his weapon in the car, etc.) Some house cleaning was in order.
Have either Kennedy or Treacy called for Brizzi's resignation yet? They should have, and it is not too late.
ReplyDeleteScrap metal deal. There was no misconduct by officers with the scrap yards. It was a false accusation that if I had to guess came from some type of political agenda.
ReplyDelete