The Beaumont City Council turned down City Manager Kenneth Williams' recommendation of Troy Price for chief of police of the Beaumont Police Department (BPD), signaling a preference for hiring from within the community.
The search for a new chief will continue as Williams seeks a new candidate before the current chief's retirement at the end of July.
Last week, four final candidates stood before the Representative Community Committee and the community, vying for the chance to become the city’s next chief of police, a process that many believed would end July 12 with a recommenda- tion from the city manager and a final vote from the city council.
After completing the interview pro- cess by the committee and city staff, Wil- liams presented his recommendation of Price, a deputy chief with the Vancouver (Washington) Police Department. His recommendation was rejected 4-3.
Mayor Pro Tem A.J. Turner, along with Councilmembers Audwin Samuel and Charles Durio, supported Williams' recommendation.
Expressing a preference for a local candidate to be hired from within the department, Mayor Roy West, Councilmembers Randy Feldschau, Taylor Neild, and Mike Getz rejected the city manag- er’s recommendation.
Among the 23 community members who spoke before the council was Jon Reaud, chairman of the BPD Citizens Advisory Commission and a member of the Representative Community Commit- tee appointed by the city manager.
Despite being selected to evaluate and interview the top four candidates, Reaud revealed the committee was not in any way allowed to voice their opinion on who their candidate of choice would be, to rank or to categorize any of the four candidates.
“We met for four hours the first night and then we met for eight hours to interview the four candidates, and that was the end of our charge. We were not allowed as a committee to talk among ourselves and come up with the candidate that we felt best qualified for the city of Beaumont,” stated Reaud, futher stating his support for hiring Plunkett, the sole canidate from within BPD.
Chief of Police James Singletary addressed the council, giving his full support for hiring the only local candidate – Assistant Chief Jason Plunkett.
Although a few community members spoke ill of Plunkett’s character, mentioning a lawsuit against the city in 2004 that accused him of racial discrimination, Singletary expressed his distaste for the accusations and rumors of Plunkett and spoke to the good nature of his character.
Former Chief of Police Frank Coffin Sr. also spoke in support of Plunkett.
“I was very familiar with what went on… I’m very disappointed in the people that are using that incident to make this angle that (Plunkett) is not the right candidate,” stated Coffin. “I’ve been around (him) and he’s worked for me for 25 years. I can tell you that I’ve had private conversations with (him) and I can tell you right now (Plunkett) is not a racist individual.”
According to Exhibit 1 in the case filed Oct. 2, 2009, and under the American Arbitration Association led by the Voluntary Labor Arbitration Tribunal and signed by Otis H. King in the matter of the arbitration between Officer Donald Jackson and the city of Beaumont, arbitration sustained the grievance, which stated “the city acted in direct retaliation against the grievant for having filed a discrimination charge against his sergeant. However, the discrimination charges were found to be without merit. The determination of whether there has been retaliation is not based on the merits of the charges of discrimination but on whether their filing triggered an adverse action against the complainant that otherwise would not have been taken. In fact, the arbitrator would add his impression that there was no evidence to indicate Sgt. Jason Plunkett’s decision regarding the grievant’s assignment was based on any racial discrimination against him.”
What’s next
Williams issued a statement earlier this week expressing his respect for the council’s decision and emphasized the importance of finding a leader who embodies the values and vision of Beaumont.
“We are dedicated to identifying a highly qualified individual who will lead our police department with integrity, professionalism, and a deep commitment to public safety,” he stated.
As of July 17, Williams was in the process of gathering information and having conversations with council members to release his proposition for a process to name a new appointee for the council’s consideration before the end of the month.
Should Williams name a candidate and the council approve before Singletary’s official retirement date on July 31, there would be no need for an interim chief.
However, should Williams fail to make a selection or should his selection not be approved by the majority of the council before Singletary’s last day as chief, an interim would be decided solely by Williams without the requirement of the city council’s approval.
Although Williams’ statement includes an understanding that a candidate from the Beaumont community is preferred, it has yet to be seen whether he will recommend Plunkett, or one of the several other local applicants, which were not initially selected for the final interview round.