PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION To: Harvey Robinson Interim City Manager, City of Port Arthur P.O. Box 1089 Port Arthur. Texas 77641 Date: December 18, 2017 RE: Vote of No Confidence against Chief Patrick Melvin From: Port Arthur Police Association Dear Mr. Robinson, ‘On September 26th, 2017, 1, Greg Mouton, Union President of the Port Arthur Police Association and Patrick Melvin, Police Chief of the Port Arthur Police Department began exchanging department emails in reference to the increasing discussions of an impending vote of no confidence against the Chicf and his administration. 1 informed Chief Melvin that I would be scheduling a union meeting for association members to discuss moving forward with such declaration. A union meeting was held on October 1, 2017 and a motion was made to move forward with the no confidence vote. By a show of hands in the meeting of nearly sixty association members in attendance, the motion to move forward with the no confidence vole was unanimous. The actual no confidence voting process began on October 27, 2017 and ended on November 6, 2017. The results were that 85% of the participating voting members of the association indicated they lacked confidence in Chief Melvin and his administration. On November 17, 2017, the Executive Board held a private meeting with Chief Melvin. After careful consideration and much debate, the association decided we would not be providing art itemized list of problems within the department to Chief Melvin nor would we be offering solutions. The majority of the officers in the Port Arthur Police Department indicated they have Jost all faith, trust and confidence in his ability to lead the department. Therefore, making such effort to resolve these issues with Chief Melvin in command would not be feasibie. Instead. the association made the decision to present our facts to the City Manager of Port Arthur for a solution. Page 1 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION One week after the voting results were released. the City Manager, Brian McDougal was placed on paid administrative leave. This occurred on November 13, 2017 and by November 21, 2017, Brian McDougal officially resigned. Dr. Jimmy Johnson was then named the Interim City Manager. Myself, along with members of the Associations Executive Board met with Dr Johnson on November 20, 2017 to discuss our reasons for the no confidence vote against Chief Melvin and his administration. I provided a letter to Dr. Johnson explaining the reasons for the no confidence vote on November 27, 2017. ‘The Association never received a response from Dr. Johnson. Through third party information, 1 was told City Council did receive and review the associations letter. No direct communication by any city official concerning the associations letter was ever established after the letter was presented to Dr. Johnson. On December 5, 2017, the associations letter was discovered on social ‘media along with Chief Melvin's rebuttal. {t is unknown who provided the associations letter to a private citizen of Port Arthur who in tum posted it on Facebook, a popular social media network also used by the Port Arthur Police Department. Internal issues within the department regarding the no canfidence vote has captured the local ‘media's attention throughout this entire process. Chief Melvin personally gave interviews with the local media outlets and provided statements to them in reference to the no confidence vote. In doing so, he was accused of plagiarism. He did in fact use verbatim, nearly the entire statement of another chief of police in another state in response to the no confidence vote against him. He openly admitted to this in a follow up interview with the local media which was broadcasted on focal television channels, bringing even more negative attention upon himself and the department. It was never the intention of the Port Arthur Police Association to release, or even allow anyone else to release our letter to the public explaining the reasons for the vote of no confidence. The Association has always intended to seek assistance from city officials first. As Union President, I have declined to speak with news reporters on numerous occasions, unlike Chief Melvin. I refrained from doing this out of respect for city officials. As a professional courtesy, the Association did not resort to placing public pressure and serutiny upon city officials over the no confidence vote by going to the media. Even after Chief Melvin's rebuttal ‘was made public, we paticntly have awaited this opportunity to presemt our facts in a detailed response to Chief Melvin’s rebuttal. Page 2 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Listed below are follow up responses to the original letter presented to Dr. Jimmy Johnson when he was the interim city manager. For the purpose of adding clarity in determining who's speaking, the paragraphs below have been differently colored. The original response from the association is listed in black lettering. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal to the Association original response is in blue lettering and the Associations response to Chief Melvin’ rebuttal is in red lettering. (November 27, 2017) Dr. Jimmy Johnson Interim City Manager, City of Port Arthur P.O. Box 1089 Port Arthur, Texas 77641 Dear Dr. Johnson: This is in follow up to the mecting between you and the executive board of the Port Arthur Police Association where we discussed the reasons the Association went forward with a vote of no confidence with regard to Chief Patrick Melvin and his administration. As you know. 85% of the membership voted that they had no confidence in the current Chief or his administration. Below are some of the issues that have occurred under Chief Melvin’s leadership that lead to the vote of no confidence. Chief Melvin's rebuatal (December 7. 2017) The Association is claiming that 85% of the membership has voted no confidence against me and my Administration. These numbers are incorrect. There were a total of 78 persons that apparently participated in the vote: of those. 66 voted no confidence, These are the numbers the Association used to get 85%. At the time of the vote. there wet ts eligible to participate in the vote. 104 of Using the actual numbers, there were 63% that voted no confidence, 12% that voted they did have confidence and 25% abstained from voting. Afler a review of the registered users on the Union website, there were three civilians and two indefinitely suspended Page 3 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION (terminated) former employees that may have had the same voting opportunities as active sworn officers Associations response (December 18, 2017) ‘The Chief is correct. If you look only at the officers that voted, only 63% of the eligible officers voted they had no confidence in the administration. Perhaps the Association should have said that 85% of those that voted chose the “No Confidence” option. However, 63% is still much greater than hall, We respectfully decline to comment on exactly which officers chose to cast a ballot. However you should know that seven of the eligible officers were newly hired officers that were still ia training at the time of the vote. These officers have only been on the street as police offices tor a few months, tis not likely that they had formed an opinion of the Chief and; therefore, they may not have cast ballots. Even if they had a positive or negative opinion of him, they may have not fel comfortable voting due to their relatively short tenure at the Department, In addition, three of those persons eligible to cast a vote were the Assistant Chief and the two Deputy Chiefs as they are members of the Association as well. As stated above, we would like to not reveal the names of those that voted but, if these three Association Members did cast a ballot. it is pretty obvious how they would vote since the Vote of No Confidence was against the Chief AND his Administration. Finally this isthe first time thatthe Association has elected to east online votes through our secure website (in the past, we have submitted paper ballots). The site is designed for voting and is extremely secure and even the Association leadership cannot determine how individual votes were cast, Several members have commented that they did nat trust the systema, They believed that there was always an outside chance that their ballot vote would be discovered. If individual members were concemed about their vote being disclosed and facing some type of recourse or retaliation from that discovery, they would probably not vote at all. Page & of 42 tent, will to ing on,PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION © Lt. Balsamo, retired after 34 years of service after being moved from his assigned position and being assigned back to patrol on the graveyard shift despite being the most senior Lt, in the department. Set. Boneau resigned after being investigated for wrongdoing by Chief Melvin After the investigation revealed no wrongdoing that Sgt. Boneau could be disciplined for. he was reassigned back to the patrol division. He left shortly after and is now employed by Nederland Police Department. © Two Officers, L. Cherry and J. Daws, Patrolmen in the prime of their careers. took a pay cut to work for Bridge City Patice Department. { know both of them personally and they are two professional men who would not say negative things toward our police department. Sn private, they have told me they believe Chie? Melvin makes his personnel decisions based on limited data. The biggest reason they lett is they did not believe he would stand and defend them if there was ever aneed. They describe him as a politician, bending which way serves him best and not putting the interest of the department first © Officer Mingo, retired for family reasons. | know Officer N. Mingo well and think if you were to have a candid conversation with him, you would lear that he also was being polite and professional. ‘These are ten officers that chose to leave our department for no other reason than Chief Melvin and his administration. They will not write that down. they are polite professional men, but I encourage you to call them. Tell them it is an exit interview and that you are the new city ‘manager and you would like a candid opinion. Our former City Manager. Brian McDougal was not well received, and most association members refused to speak with him due to a brutal contract negotiation. 1 think their comments will be eye opening if they agree to speak honestly Seventeen Officers and Civilians did leave the police department prior to his arrival. Change was expected with the arrival of a new department head and those not willing to go through that change left. Other factors that led to their departure was the election of a new Sheriff in Jefferson County. Several of our officers left to work for her department as she took office. Chief Blanton, a member of this Department for forty years, had also recently retired. As often happens with Chiefs of his tenure, several members, including a Deputy Chief, retired at the same time as Chief Blanton, To imply that officers who left after Chief Melvin arrived did so only because they could retire ‘or sought betier salaries in misleading at best. Chief Melvin is unable (0 speak with the majority Page 7 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION The interviews were euch conducted with the same interview questions and predetermined scoring matrix. The results of the process were ethnically diverse consisting of two black male officers, « white male officer. a Hispanic male officer and a white female officer. This was not by design but by the scoring matrix. Associations response (December 18. 2017) The Association agrees that management has the right to assign personnel any way that it desires within the department. However. this Chief stated when he vot here that “all” transfers and Promotions within the department would be completed based on some type of process. We understand that the Chief has had to make multiple moves since bis arrival and it would be dittieuls to have a selection process for euch of them. However. not having a selection process is very bad for moral. especially since the Chief has stated that he believes in a transparent process for ‘movement within the Department. Many officers and supervisors. who would like to be considered for certain positions. have not been afforded that privilege. Associations original statement (November 27, 2017) All deputy chiefs were sclected based on input from a panel that had no member on it with law enforcement experience or who has been involved in running a police department. The result was selection of inexperienced individuals to deputy chief aver others having over 27 plus years of experience. A 6-month Sergeant was selected to be a deputy chief, jumping 3 ranks in less than 6 months. The 6-month Sergeant will have the responsibility of supervising approximately 40 individuals when the department is fully staffed. Ironically, only a month or so prior to this, the same individual was denied a transfer to supervise the five-person Street Crimes Unit due to lack of experience. Based on the current chief's policies, he was deemed to not have enough supervisory experience to preside over the five-person Street Crimes Unit. Chief Metvin's rebuttal (December 7, 2017) When | arrived at the Port Arthur Police Department, there was a Deputy Chief vacancy that needed te be filled. To assist with the selection, 1 formed a Deputy Chief interview selection pane. The selection interview panel consisted of intemal city departmental heads and community members. { announced criteria for applying for the position that inchaded a letter of Page 9 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION interest and required the preparation of a strategic plan and implementation strategy for the impending annexation of local refineries. After a tenure. disciplinary history. personal motivation, past assignment performances and accomplishments, the vacancy was filled with the only applicant that was unanimously recommended to me by the selection panel. During the post interview review with the Deputy Chief candidates, | was given information by Command Staf¥ level candidates about some of their fellow candidates including: Issui that applicants violated State law by not completing mandatory family violence reports, previous documentation of employee discrimination and harassment, the removal from multiple special assignments for failure to perform, violations of FLSA by refusing to allow employees to uuse carned compensatory time without just cause and an applicant that was assigned to a multi- agency task force that failed to submit not even one criminal case for prosecution throughout half a decade of assignment J verified those allegations and also reviewed apy sustained complaints including: ‘cams’ disciplinary history that included various Unsatisfactory Performance. Unbecoming Conducts. Failure to Report for Duty (Court Appearances), Failure 10 Complete Reports. insubordinate Conduct, Unprofessional Conduct, Failure to Report for Duty (Late), Failure to Report for Duty (Off Duty), Violation of Training, and Damage’Loss of Department Property When two other Deputy Chief positions became vacant, there was another selection process announced to the entire department. A letter of interest was again required in the application packet and additionally, a synopsis of changes one would implement if selected was required in the application packet. The selection interview panel consisted of internal City Departmental Heads and Assistant City Managers. Afier a review of tenure, disciplinary history, personal motivation, past assignment performances and accomplishments, along with the unanimous recommendation to me by the selection panel, the current Deputy Chietis were chosen, Associations response (December 18, 2017) In Chief Melvin’s explanation for promoting a six-month sergeant to Deputy Chief, he states that he went with the unanimous decision of the panel, as well as what he learned in conversations with other candidates trom the first selection process. These conversations were about past performance history of applicants that woukl enter the second selection process for Page 10 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Deputy Chief. He cites a bevy of complaints but does not cite the details. Chief Melvin does not reatize that prior to Chief Blanton. the Port Arthur Police Dept. was very strict. Officers were written up for things like Failure to Complete a Report when they turned in an accident form and did not fill in all the blanks. Failure 20 Report for Duty was the title if an officer missed a city court date and the ticket had to be dismissed. For past example. an officer was written up and received verbal counseling for holding an intoxicated subject, who was trying to spin away from the officer over the hood of a patrol ear until he calmed down, He was then released to his friend who was sober. He came and complained and the supervisor at the time told the officer he had a rule, “if you put your hands ona citizen, you take them to jail because this is what happens.” That was foolish responsibility for him, why arrest him? That was the mentality ewenty years ago. Maybe there could be more serious incidents, but an officer's personnel file could be full of charges that the title seems very damning. A further look into what happened is needed. Whether that was done or not { do not know but simply putting that down for reasons to promote an inexperienced supervisor, with limited law enforcement experience is not enough justification in my opinion. The truth of the matter is. the six-month experienced Sergeant promoted to Deputy Chief had approached several officers in the department soliciting information of wrongdoing by off \who had applied for the Deputy Chief position. He even asked a board member for transcripts of ‘an arbitration hearing. so he could document a mistake made by an applicant he was competing against. The Chief does not cite the fact that his Sergeant with six-month experience filed a lawsuit against the City of Port Arthur for violations of FLSA. It was deemed to he so frivolous, that the judge threw the case out without even hearing it, No one told Chief Melvin the six-month Sergeant who he promoted to Deputy Chief refused an order to do a report from a Sergeant and drove away when be was a patrolman, No one told him that he damaged the inside of a suspect's car who had eluded him in a foot pursuit. No one told him that he lied to supervisors to cover up for not arriving at an off-duty job. No one told him that the six-month Sergeant had claimed an O51 (on the job injury) while at home feeding his K-9. His close friends at work stated that he told them be had cut it on a piece of metal while remodeling his home. It appears Chief Metvin is attempting to justify his poor decision by standering the other candidates without knowing the entire truth about the three he chose Page 12 of A2PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Chief Melvin selected wo additional supervisors in the department who were ranked as Licutenants. One promoted to a second Deputy Chief position and the other was selected for his Assistant Chief position. 1 was well known that one of his selected Deputy Chie’s would sit in his office and manage his Ebay store or play games on his iPad. This was allowed by the previous administration, but to say this person was a leader in the field and gave his best to the department is an understatement. The selected Deputy Chief sat around his office and did the minimal amount to ei by. He visited pawn shops, on duty. both inside and outside the city to purchase items he thought would bring more money on his Ebay store. This was condoned at the time but so were many things that were not proper within the department that he fett the need to address in his response. Employees have filed and received settlement checks from EEOC complaints against one of Chief Melvin’s selected Deputy Chiefs for discrimination and creating a hostile work environment, He wrote up an employee for taking excessive breaks on duty but allowed other employees he liked to keep taking their long breaks. When this favoritism was pointed out he did stop all day shift patrolmen from taking excessive meal breaks. However. a fellow officer typed a memo in the dis 1's defense stating that Chief Melvin’s selected Deputy hief told him “just do this for a while until we get officer xxx. and then we will go back to normal”. This may have been a contributing factor in a successful EEOC complaint the settled One of Chief Melvin's selected Deputy Chiefs clearly had an unprofessional relationship with a female employee. It was open and obvious. The Association is not indicating it was in a sexual manner, but it was clear that she was treated different and he spent a fot of time in her office. He also walked into his shift meeting once, frustrated by officer making mistakes on wreck reports and screamed. “If you think I'm just here to correct your mistakes then Fuck You!” This was to the entire shift, For a Chief that is so adamant in a no profanity policy, you may feel that having a Deputy Chief that told his entire shit and tine supervisars “Fuck You!” would have been, climinated. This selected Deputy Chief was also hired by the department afier resigning from Beaumont Polive Dep. for violating policy while still in the Field Training Program. Chief Melvin may or may not know of these actions, but the point is no one in that department is mistake free. If he is going to point out mistakes made by other applicants as justification for his appointments. then he should be made aware that some of his Deputy Chiefs are the most serious offenders. Things do not afway’s get reported, supervisors handle things with counseling and training. He will not find an applicant anywhere inside or outside of the police department who has not made mistakes at some point in their career. but those chosen, have made plenty of mistakes and where not chosen because of their exemplary record or performance. His process Page 12 of 2PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION establish himself within the Regional Narcotics Task Force. The intent on re- taffing specialized units will resume after staffing levels are back to normal. | have already submitted a plan for consideration to reinstate our PAPD Street Crimes Unit to strategically reduce crimes in our community Couneil made me aware upon my appointment that there was a disconnect between the community and the Police Department. This issue has been addressed consistently since my arrival, The implementation of the C.R.U. (Community Response Unit) has been proven successful throughout the country and has been readily accepted since its implementation and inception here in Port Arthur Associations response (December 18, 2017) The Traffic Unit was suspended duc to the shortage in Field Operations. The Street Crimes Unit was shut down in favor of a Community Policing Unit, As we noted in aur first letter. the Association realizes the importance of a good relationship with the community and supports community policing. But the Police Department's core mission is to stop and deter erime, During such a manpower shortage. why are five officers and a sergeant, devoted to festivals and Facebook posts? Chief Melvin seems to want to give the perception that things are ok in the department and that filling these positions causes no issues. The truth is, patrol is so overworked answering calls for service they can't keep up. They can’t hit the high crime areas as they have done in the past These extra six officers would go a long way in helping deter crime instead of trying to create a positive unrealistic perception ‘Why isn’t the Chief doing everything he can to help get officers on the strect to stop the numerous shootings across the city and when staffing affows. start a community policing unit? The Community Response Unit is a unit the Chief wanted for photo opportunities and special projects to confirm his “smoke and mirrors campaign”. Look what I'm doing here, not what I'm not doing here, such as not addressing real issues like the common occurrence of shootings throughout various areas of the city. This unit should be used as a unit that addresses these problems not a public relations unit, especially now that we are so understaffed. Again, a simple solution that requires interacting with your officers and asking opinions: make community policing a voluntary assignment for now. Offer it as overtime or compensatory time. Take notes on who comes out on their own time. When manpower allows it, these are the officers I would be looking at hard for those positions. The officers that care so much and believe in ‘community policing so much they put in time off-duty. Wouldn't they be more effective in the ‘community than ones chosen by a Deputy Chief or because of their race? What better, then an on the job interview? Page 14 of AZPORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION The Narcotics Unit also no longer is effective due to promotions out of the unit and the shortage has not allowed the department to fill them. He has allowed the one Narcoties Detective we have to team with the JCSO Narcotics Team. He will continue to be ineffective in Port Arthur. The other men and women of that unit work for Jefferson County, Their priority is to those citizens in the county, not Port Arthur. To give the impression that this will serve as an effective tool to combat narcotics activity in Port Arthur is not true. Anyone who has real, not presumed, experience in working narcotics, will share the same opinion. (November 27, 2017) ‘The SWAT team members moral has declined to such a fow level that it is questionable whether it can be effective in responding to a crisis. Part of the decline in SWAT team members is due to ‘comments made by the Chief that indicated to the members that the SWAT team does aot have the full support of the Chief. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7, 2017) T have personally met with our SWAT team and relayed to them that [ give the team my full support. I continue to allow monthly SWAT training and annual weekly training and am confident that the team can and will be effective in responding to situations. [ recently authorized the addition of four new members to SWAT team and authorized the purchase of new ballistic helmets and tactical hands-free communication headsets gear for all team members. Associations response (December 18. 2017) Our SWAT Team consist of some of the most dedicated individuals in our department. They train ‘on duty once a month and off-duty weekly. They pay their own gym fees to stay fit. They buy their own practice ammunition to stay proficient. They buy some of their own equipment to be better prepared. They answer the phone every time they are called and have walked out of more date night, movie theaters and restaurants than any other officer in that department. Yet in a meeting with these men to show his support for the team, the first statement made by him was SWAT Teams kill people”. He would go on to admit that he did not know we had a SWAT policy in place and was not up to date on our procedures. He did say he believes in the team being highly trained and supported both in house and out of town training. He has purchased new trelmets and communications Page 15 of AZPORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION ‘equipment that was badly needed. However, the damage was done with the first statement he made {1 instantly gave the perception that he believed we killed people or were hardened officers who cared little for the lives of the citizens we are sworn to protect. To be clear, team members are chosen for a number of different attributes. The highest is decision making ability, calmness under pressure and the ability to think outside the box to resolve a situation. You call the SWAT Team because they are veteran officers who are highly trained to handic volatile situations. They save people, suspects and innocent civilians, Patrol OMiicers have a limited number of tools and equipment at their disposal and when a suspect forces a situation. the only option they may have is deadly force. You call the SWAT Team because they have better protective equipment, more less-lethat options, and better equipment to defitse the situation. Again. it is obvious he has limited experience in this area. In the 30 plus years of its existence. the Port Arthur Police SWAT Team has never used deadly force against a citizen of Port Arthur. They have, defused countless numbers of hostage situations, barricaded subjects. and suicidal subjects and executed hundreds if not thousands of high risk search warrants without using deadly foree. It takes an unlimited amount of courage 10 move through a door. knowing that on the other side. in an instant, you could lose your life or be forced to take one. Decisions are made in seconds that have to be lived with forever. It is imperative that SWAT Team members believe they have the full support of the Chief of Police to defend the hard, sometimes controversial decisions that have to be made. To date Chief Melvin had not eared that trust and in the opinion of team members, and has done little to try IL SERVICE (November 27, 2017) ‘The Chief does not understand or care about Civil Service rules and regulations and has repeatedly violated the Civil Service Laws. Chief Meivin’s rebuttal (December 7, 2017) To date no “violations” of Civil Service laws have been brought forward to the Civil Service ‘Commission by the Association. Certainly. an atfeyation of this nature would have been formally addressed if te. Page 16 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Associations response (December 18, 2017) The purpose of Local Government Code Chapter 143 is to secure efficient police departments composed of capable personnel who are free from political influence and who have permanent ‘employment tenure as public servants. In addition, the members of the Civil Service Commission shall administer this chapter in accordance with this purpose. Regarding the Chief not understanding or earing about Civil Service and repeated violations of Civil Service Laws, the Chief responded that no “violations” have been brought to Civil Service Commission by the Association True. the Association has not yet formally met with the Commission. One member was spoken with prior to Hurricane Harvey. Since that time contact was made with Monique Laflour requesting a meeting with the Civil Service Commission to address promotional exams and related issues. A date for the meeting was requested. however we have had no confirmation from Ms. Laflour. (November 27, 2017) A lieutenant position was eliminated rather than fillled by the next qualified person as required by Civil Service. This was brought to the Chief's attention and he ignored it. Chief Melvia’s rebuttal: (December 7. 2017) 1 utilized proper procedure and went to the Ci Lieutenant position. ty Council via 2 proposed ordinance to eliminate the Associations response {December 18, 2017) The Lieutenants position that was eliminated. rather than being filled - The Chief responded that he utilized proper procedure and went to City Council via a proposed ordinance to eliminate the Lieutenants position. The day Lieutenant was promoted to Deputy Chief, it immediately opened that Lieutenant's position as prescribed by Ordinance. In addition, Civil Service establishes our rank classification and Department structure. Page 17 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Civil Service Chapter 143 Section 143.036 (a) requires that when a vacancy occurs. the vacancy SHALL be filled. If an eligibility list exists on the date the vacancy occurs. (and the el did exist). the department head SHALL fill the vacancy by permanent appointment wit afier the date the vacaney occurs \ Lieutenant was officially promoted to Deputy Chief on Monday December 5. 2016. A Sergeant was the next qualified person on the eligibility list to be promoted to Lieutenant, and should have been promoted within 60 days. During the next staff meeting, Thursday December 8°. following the Licutenants promotion. the Chief was asked when the Sergeant would be promoted as per civil service stating the promotion SHALL occur. The Chief. disregarding Civil Service. stated there was no open Lieutenant position. On January 17, 2017 Chief Melvin went to City Council and asked for the Lieutenant position be deleted as there was no need for the position. City Council deleted the position and the Sergeant ‘was not promoted. Effective March 17, 2017 a Lieutenant officially retired. Once again, a Lieutenants position was open and again the Sergeant was not promoted. Once again Chief Melvin disobeyed Civil Service and failed to fill the Lieutenants position as Civil Service states he SHALL. A simil sue has been addressed in court in the case of City of Fort Worth vs Nyborg No. 2-98-041-CV, decided on July 15, 1999 ‘On March 20, 2017 the open Lieutenants position was then filled by a Deputy Chief who was demoted. Now. at the end of November 2017. Chief Melvin is requesting a new Lieutenant and additional Sergeants for reasons unknown to the Association. Associations original statement (November 27, 2017) ‘The Chief openly stated that Civil Service Laws hinder him in being able to discipline officers. Chief Melvin’ s rebuttal (December 7, 2017) Discipline is an unpopular yet necessary function that is tasked to the Head of the Department by Civil Service law. | have worked within the parameters of Civil Service law in teference to discipline and always consult with H.R... City Manager, and the City Attorney before proceeding \with disciplinary matters. Page 18 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION (November 27, 2017) ‘The Chief submitted questions for the Sergeant and Lieutenants exam creating more than three sources of materials to study in violation of the Association's Collective Bargaining Agreement. ‘The Chief drafted and submitted 50 questions for each of the Sergeant and Lieutenant exams. Historically, to insure the integrity of the exam, an outside agency has been used to drafi the promotional exams and nobody within the department has access to the exam prior 10 it being administered. The Chief reviewed these exams prior to them being administered which can call into question the integrity of the exam being administered. In an open Civil Service Commission meeting, the Chief admitted that he refused to use the third-party test maker's questions on policy and instead, inserted his own 50 questions on policy. In addition to the integrity of the promotional exam being questioned, if the Chief can write and/or review the test, a conflict of interest can arise if questions written by the Chief are appealed. Afier a test is administered, candidates can appeal questions they believe are unfair, improper, or have the wrong answer listed as a correct answer. Appeals are submitted to the Civil Service Commission. The Civil ‘Service Commission determines the validity of appealed questions and often obtains input from the test writer before making a decision. If the Chief writes a question that is appealed, he is then put in the position of arguing the validity of a question which puts him in a conflict between officers that took the test. Historically, an outside source has written the questions to avoid such a conflict if questions are challenged. ‘On the Sergcant’s exam, the Chief wrote all the policy questions. Although the Chief reviewed the exam prior to it being administered, seventeen of the questions written by the Chief were thrown ‘out by the Civil Service Commission as being improper questions based on the questions coming from souree materials that had been removed from the testing list. (On the Lieutenant's exam, seven of the questions written by the Chief were appealed and the majority of these questions were thrown out by the Civil Service Commission as being improper because an incorrect answer was listed as a correct answer. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7, 2017) The PAPA contract states that source material for promotional exams come: listed material and “no more than two (2) other sources which pertain to the po: believe that departmental policy (police directives) is especially important for from the speci ion being teste Page 20 of A2PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION inclusion for supervisory testing. A supervisor should know policy if he/she is to direct subordinates in the proper procedures and services to our Port Arthur community. 1 informed Human Resourees that I wanted to include Departmental policy testing in future promotional exams. Historically, departmental policy fas not been included in the supervisor exam process, Although a third-party vendor was utilized to draft parts of the exam, there have been previous complaints made by Association members that the material being tested was not relevant to the tested position. | ensured that the tested policy questions were relevant and job specific by drafting those questions pertaining to departmental policy. i is not uncommon in professional policing for a staff member of the police department to draft questions for promotional examinations. Having to argue the validity of a question is not a task that is taken personally, it is a professional and business task that should be expected. The Civil Service Commission and the Deputy Directors of Civil Service are tasked with listing the materials to be included in the examination and the decisions of which questions are thrown out of the promotional exams. Associations response (December 18. 2017) The issues with the Chief reading the Sergeant and Lieutenant promotional exams and the submission of test questions. Speaking with former Chiefs of Police, they indicated they had no involvement with the formulation of the examinations of the testing procedure because it would bring the question of security and integrity into play. By interjecting himself into the testing procedure it brings the question of integrity into play. It also exposes the City and Commission to allegations of cheating as it only takes one or two questions for any candidate to be either in or out of position for promotion. Past practice has always been to use an outside test maker and it is incumbent on the City as well as the Civil Service Commission to retain the security and integrity of the exams. In the Chief's response he states that Department policy should be included in the promotional exams and he approached Human Resources. If the Chief wished policy be included in the exam, he should have addressed the Civil Service Commission. It is the Director of Civil Service who is. responsible for the preparation and security of cach promotional exam. ‘The Chief cites that there have been complaints by association members that material tested is not relevant. If there was an association member who had a complaint, that person could have appealed to the Civil Service Commission. In addition, that Police Officer has the right under Civil Service. Chapter 143 Section 143.032(e) to suggest source materials for the exami Page 21 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION The Chief states that it is not uncommon for a PD staff member to drafi questions. If he would like to initiate this practice. the Civil Service Commission or Police Associations contract would have been the places to address the issue. The Chief states that having to argue the validity of question is not a task taken personally. It is business and expected. He submitted questions. as did the ouside test maker. If there is an appeal to a question, the outside test maker submits the source for the question, the question. and the answer they felt best fit the question. The Chief. as a professional, should understand the procedure. it is then the esponsibility of the augrieved person to show cause that their answer is correct as opposed to the test maker's answer. Its then left to the Civil Service Commission to decide if there is causing to accept a different answer. The contention here being that the presence of the Chief, arguing his questions, may give the appearance of influence one way or the other and place the aggrieved employee in a position of duress fearing some form of repercussions. Once again. Civil Service is in place to protect against outside political influence. Hye (November 27, 2017) ‘The chief and deputy chief created a new rank system in violation of civil service laws and the Association's Collective Bargaining Agreement. The association brought this to the attention of the Chief who did nothing in response to being made aware of the situation. The Association was Preparing to file a grievance in order to get the Chief to comply with Civil Service law and the Association's Collective Bargaining Agreement. The policy creating the new rank system had to bbe re-written to prevent the grievance from going forward. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7. 2017) The Association must be referring to incentives included for Field Training Officers. Per contract. FTO"sare paid a monthly monetary incentive. In revamping the FTO program, the new FTO poli included recognizing FTO’s by authorizing uniform patches € wear indicating their achievement: this is common among professional police departments. There is an additional non-monetary incentive in the form of eared compensstory time for FTO's, The FTO designation is not a promotion and there is no rank associated with the FTO designation; the police department has held the same rank classifications far over 20 years. Page 22 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Associations response (December 18. 2017) The FTO Policy violating the PAPA Contract and Civil Service The Chief states that the uniform sleeve patches which identify police officers as FTO"s (Field departments. I must agree, as we are onal police department and have utilized the sleeve patches in the past. This practice was discontinued as citizens in the community were more interested in only addressing the officer with the distinet sleeve patch. having the appearance of rank. and interfering with the f probationary police oficers. In the Field Training Policy that the Chief implemented, it defines the positions of Field Training Coordinator. Field Training Officer, Senior Field Training Officer. Master Field Training Officer. and Field Training Officer Supervisor. In the definitions it includes the superv duties and responsibilities: inclusive of mentoring and evaluating also included in the form of Compensatory Time. ment for each position is Because of the way it is written and describes the positions. the responsibility. additional duties. and rank is established. This violates Civil Service and our collective bargaining agreement. If the Chief’ wished to obtain these ranks he should have appealed to City Council, by Ordinance. and the Civil Service Commission under Section 143.021 Under Civil Service, FTO’s are eligible for pay. This is also addressed in our contract. The Chief states the Compensatory Time is non-monetary. This is not correct. Any Compensatory time eamed is equal to I Ys times your hourly salary. Once you have accumulated the maximum amount oF compensatory time, 100 hours, any additional compensatory time earned is converted to paid overtime. Page 23 of 2PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION (November 27, 2017) Despite being on notice for several days of a potential landfall from Hurricane Harvey. there was inadequate preparation for this cvent by the Chief or his Administration which resulted in chaos within the City in the aftermath of Harvey making landfall. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7, 2017) The Emergeney Management Coordinator, Deputy EMC. Mayor and City Manager participated in Regional teleconferences conducted by the National Weather Service leading up to Hurricane Harvey. Based on the information provided. the concern for rainfall predictions was in the area of Sabine Pass. Provisions were made for Sabine Pass including meeting with the Superintendent of Sabine Pass schools (o establish a shelter if needed. High water vehicles and Police and F personnel coverage were established prior to landfall for Sabine Pass. Based on the information received, a voluntary evacuation order was issued for Sabine Pass. Additionally, the National Weather Service, no jurisdictions in the region called for a preemptive mandatory evacuation and there were no recommendation for any type of evacuation, including the Jefferson County Judge or the Texas Department of Emergency Management. Associations response (December 18. 2017) Prior to Hurricane Harvey. local meteorologists correctly forecasted extreme amounts of raintall for our area. up to 20-30 inches of rain with isolated amounts of 40 plus inches. This was ‘broadcasted for at least 2-3 days prior to the onset of flooding rains. Never. did Chief Melvin or any of his administration, including his Deputy Chief, who is the Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator. discuss any preparedness activities with other Staff Supervisors or Field Operations supervisors. There was no discussion or plan or meeting to discuss possible objectives should we receive the forecasted amount of rainfall. which obviously would have a ‘major impact on our city. Especially. our historically flood prone areas of the city Page 24 of 2PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Associations original statement (November 27, 2017) Post Harvey landfall, within the department, it was an organizational disaster, there was a complete lack of leadership and accountability. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7. 2017) There was no jurisdiction that coufd have prepared for a storm with the effeets of Hurricane Harvey. Jurisdictions trom all over Southeast Texas have similar stories of personnel working over 24 hours conducting rescues with the assistance of the Cajun Navy and other rescue efforts. Prior to landfall, dump trucks were acquired from the Public Works Department by the Police Departments and aff high-water vehicles in the department's inventory were serviced to ensure their preparation. During landfall when it was evident that the water surpassed the capabilities of Police Tahoe's and Fire Trucks, more dump trucks were acquired trom Water Utilities. Associations response (December 18. 2017) Chief Melvin and his Administrative Staff had no Preparedness Plan, Response Plan or Recovery Plan. During the heavy rains and subsequent flooding throughout the city. Field Operations supervisors were expected to work with normal manpower allocations. Calls for servive, due to flooding throughout the city were increased, but the Leadership never considered increasing staffing, or considered Emergency (12) hour shifts. As virtually every part of the ¢ became flooded. police and fire dispatchers. on their own accord, began calling all personnel asking that they report to work to assist with the ever-increasing calls for service, and unbelievable increase of 9-f-f calls trom citizens Again. the Chief and the Administrative leadership never took charge when effective leadership was obviously needed. Chief Melvin had no Response Plan. There was complete chaos. Officers were working 18-24 hours without knowing when or where to report to work, when they were going to be relieved. There was absolutely no organizational detail and no accountabil Page 25 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION (November 27, 2017) ‘There was no command post established as has been done in prior hurricanes. Chief Melvin's rebuttal (December 7, 2017) Prior to landtall, the command post, where meetings and teleconferences were being held. was in the conference room in the Fire Department Administration Building. Once landfall was made and Wwe were able to assess the possibilities of locations for the Emergency Operations Center. it was determined that the training room in the Police Department was the most suitable location. In prior hurricanes, the Holiday fnn on Jimmy Johnson was utilized. Due to infrastructure damage, this event was very different. The Holiday Inn, other hotels, and possible EOC locations were flooded There was no damage at the Police Department or City Hall that prevented functions from being performed at these locations. Associations response (December 18. 20017) There was complete chaos during landfall of Hurricane Harvey and this continued for several days. The question of where our command post was coming at a time when there was absolutely no organization and no accountability whatsoever. Officers needed a place to report to in the field because the police station was not easily accessible or impossible to access for some due to the type of vehicle that was being used during the flooding. It was not known that a command post Was officially established where officers were to report for assignments until the (12) hour shifts were implemented. There was a serious lack of communication here (November 27, 2017) ‘There was no planning done to preserve assets of the Department which resulted in the department loosing 32 police vehicles due to flooding. The loss of 32 police vehicles is a substantial Financial Joss to the City that is a direct result of little to no planning on behalf of the Chief and his administration. In prior hurricanes, the department lost no vehicles because a plan was in place to preserve the department's assets. Page 26 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7. 2017) As indicated, there was no information relayed that this area would suffer from 60 inches of rainfall, resulting with the most rainfall recorded in continental United States history Of the thiny-two vehicles damaged due to flooding quoted by the Association: © Eleven vehicles at the Service Center were set for deletion and being sent to auction. © Four other vehicles at the Service Center were not operational and awaiting repairs. © Five of the vehicles were parked at officers’ home within the City © One K-9 unit was at the residence out of the City © Ten police vehicles were damaged while officers were saving lives, attempting rescues and attempting (o reach citizens in need of assistances. Associations response (December 18, 2017) Chief Melvin and his Administration should have made every effort to have all police assets and fleet brought to high ground or dry focations. Our city should have NEVER suffered the loss and or damage to the fleet such as we did. As indicated above, prior to Hurricane Harvey. local Meteorologists correctly forecasted extreme amounts of rainfall for our area, up to 20-30 inches of rain with isolated amounts of 40 plus inches. The fleet could have been moved away from the Port Arthur Police Department and parked in the near vieinity as a precaution, The pavilion located directly west of the department or the front parking lot area of the department south of 4th Street could have been options. During past Hurricanes. there areas have remained high ground and were not affected by flooding Associations original statement (November 27, 2017) There was no plan in place for the housing of officer’s post landfall so that they could be available to help the citizens of Port Arthur as was done in prior hurricanes. No efforts were made to assist officers trying to report for duty that lived outside the city. Page 27 of a2PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7. 2017) There are pre-disaster contracts in place with local hotels for employee housing. Due to the ‘massive flooding in the northern portion of the city where these hotels are located, the hotel's first floor were under water and inaccessible. As the waters receded, not only was the Human Resources Department tasked with locating housing for City employees, but the Police Administration also tasked two officers specifically to meet with hotel management to seek housing for police and city employees regardless of pre-existing contracts. Those officers also assisted the HR department and the City with hotel rooms due to past collaborative relationships. Associations response «December 18, 2017) Chief Melvin appeared very distraught, and very unsure of what should be done for the housing of officer's post Hurricane Harvey's landfall, so that they could be available to help the citizens of Port Arthur. This could be attributed to a failure to pre-plan. Implementing a Response Plan in advance for the possibility of officers and other employees being displaced from their homes could have relieved this problem. Were any of the pre-disaster contracts in place with local hotels utilized or even considered for use as a precaution? Chief Melvin states that the local hotels included in the pre-disaster contract flooded post Hurricane Harvey landfall. The point to be made here is. prior to Hurricane Harvey's landfall. no one knew the hotels included in the pre-disaster contract was going to be flooded. Associations original statement (November 27, 2017) ‘The was no plan for staffing of officers and officers were not placed on 12-hour shifts until over 48 hours afier Harvey made landfall. The decision to go to 12-hour shifts was not made by the Chief but was made by two Lieutenants that had experience with prior hurricanes. Once the department went to 12-hour shifis, order began to be restored to the City. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7, 2017} My Administration had an updated decumented plan for 12-hour shifts in preparation for the annual hurricane season. The Police and Fire Departments were involved in meetings together with the Emergency Management Coordinator prior to landtall and joined regional teleconferences with the National Weather Service. The Police Department went on a modified Page 28 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION schedule as a result of the impending storm on August 2h. Aff specialized units (C.R.U., C.LD. Narcotics, Administration and Internal Affairs) were assigned to Field Operations (Patrols). They were split evenly into the three existing patrol schedules on 10 hour shifts. Once landfall hit, there was no chance for traditional shift changes. There were approximately 41 officers during the height of the storm working in field operations. Officers arrived to work to relieve others but due to the storm related circumstances, no official “reliefs” were possible. These circumstances were echoed from agencies alt over southeast Texas. Once the reality of the unexpected storm rainfall became evident and staffing was able to resume at a normal rate, Administration made the decision to shift everyone to the prepared 12-hour schedule. This decision was not made by a Lieutenant, who would have had had the authority to dictate the scheduling. ‘The decision to initiate 12 hour scheduling was made by Police Administration. Associations response (December 18. 2017) The Association disagrees with Chief Melvin. It is a well-known fact in the field operations division that two Lieutenants themselves. without the direction of Chief Melvin or his Administrative stafY, made the decision to place all sworn personnel on Emergency (12) hour shifts. This should have been done during the initial preparedness phase of Hurricane Harvey This would have obviously given all personnel a sense of direction, accountability and preparedness. Once the two Lieutenants notified the Assistant Chief that the Department would be immediately going to the (12) hour Emergency Shift, he made the assertion that he was going to make that decision himself. This decision was much too late, the two Lieutenants rectified the chaos and got control of an obvious organizational disaster by implementing the (12) hour shifts. (November 27, 2017) ‘There was no plan or assets set aside to help the citizens of Port Arthur be rescued from their homes in the event of the flooding that was forecast. The City is fortunate to have had so many volunteers come to the aid of the citizens because the department was not prepared to assist duc 10 fack of preparation. Page 29 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7. 2017) See above response on the preparations that were made prior to landfall and similar responses from other jurisdictions. When volunteers began arriving to Port Arthur, Administration began organizing their efforts. A Deputy Chief was assigned to the northem portion of the City and coordinated boat rescues from a post set up at Walmart. The other administrators coordinated other volunteer efforts such as donations of supplies and other relief efforts. Associations response (December 18. 2017) Chief Melvin’s statement is misleading, As the Association mentioned above, Chief Melvin selected Deputy Chiefs who lacked experience in specialized operations such as this. There was complete chaos in the north portion of the city when coordinating boat rescues, even under his Deputy Chiefs direction, or lack thereof. There are countless Association Members who would be willing to attest to this (November 27, 2017) ‘The Chief'and members of his administration were rarely seen during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Chief Melvin's rebuttal (December 7. 2017) During the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. members of the Administration attended two to three mandatory meetings per day held at the Police Department along with other departmem heads. the Mayor, City Manager, Assistant City Managers and Council Members. As mentioned above, a Deputy Chief was posted at Walmart, the Assistant Chief and Chief were working out of the Potice Department and the Deputy Chief assigned as Deputy EMC was between the shelters, distribution pods, the Police Department and Fire Department. Numerous officers were contacted directly by members of Administration to check on their personal status with property damage, housing and ersonal needs throughout the aftermath of the hurricane. 1 did aot leave the city, as some have laimed, and my Administration rarely went to their own homes throughout the hurricane incident. Page 30 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Associations response (December 18, 2017) This is one of the most discussed issues during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Where was the Chief and his Administration? This question was asked by a large majority of the Association Members and citizens of Port Arthur as well. Chief Melvin gives his explanation of this, but the simple tact is he was rarely seen post Hurricane Harvey landfall. There are several rumors that were circulation in reference to Chief Melvin’s whereabouts. The Chief chose to communicate with department members by department email throughout this ordeal to offer words of encouragement. This would have actually been meaningful if it were relayed in person, directly to the potice department members. (November 27, 2017) ‘The Chief may have attended one-day shift meeting to talk to officers during the aftermath of the ‘hurricane and never attended a night shift meeting. Chief Melvin’s rebuttal (December 7. 2017) | agree with the association on this issue, Due to the busy schedule I neglected making personal appearances to all shifts Associations response (December 18, 2017) Having a busy schedule is certainly understandable. Chief Melvin indicated the command post ‘was established in the Fire Departments Administration Building and later within the police department where the shift meetings were held. Taking a few moments out of his busy schedule to make an appearance in our shift meetings could have made a positive impact on the rank and file as well as supervision. Instead, the absence of Chief Melvin in shifi meetings contributed to the rumors plaguing him in reference to his whereabouts during the flood. Page 31 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION (November 27, 2017) ‘One of the departments biggest assets, the armored bear vehicle used by the SWAT team, was flooded and now requires thousands of dollars of repairs. Again, poor management of department assets. Chief Metvin’s rebuttat (December 7, 2017) The Administration of the Police Department was adamant that the SWAT Tactical Armored not be used for high water rescues. This vehicle is not designed for high water rescues and too le an asset to risk damage. Against my ad ven. The vehicle was being operated by became flooded. iministration, directive to deploy the vehicle was ‘AT member licensed to operate the unit when it Associations response (December 18, 2017) The Association is aware of which SWAT member was operating the Tactical Armored Vehicle during the time it became flooded. The operator confirmed there was much debate over using the vehicle for high water rescues as Chief Melvin stated. The Chief does not specity who gave the final appraval for the Tactical Armored Vehicle to be used in the high-water rescues. Further investigation into this may provide an answer. (November 27, 2017) Despite the issues the department faced during the aftermath of Harvey, to this day. there has never been a post hurricane debriefing or review involving the rank and file officers that actually worked the streets to go over issues the department faced during the aftermath of Harvey and the recovery process Page 32 of 42PORT ARTHUR POLICE ASSOCIATION Chief Melvin's rebuttal (December 7. 2017) The Union is correct on this point. Unfortunately. the Administration bas been inundated with issues running concurrently to the recovery process of the hurricane such as preparing for dhe ew fiscal year and the immediate needs after the adoption of the budget. The recovery process is far from over and documentation tasks related to the hurricane is still ongoing. However. the tasks associated with the day to day operations of the Police Department have not ceased to exist. | am in agreement with the Association that there is a need to debrief Associations response (December 18, 2017) To this current date. no post Hurricane Harvey debriefing or review involving the rank and file officers has taken place. There has been no communication from Chief Melvin to indicate that there will even be a debriefing in the future. An after-action review would provide Association Members an opportunity to ask Chief Melvin questions directly in reference to concems and issues faced during the devastating flooding even. LEADERSHIP (November 27,2017) Under the current Chief's leadership, the department is facing more litigation then has ever existed in the history of the department. Officers are being placed on administrative leave based on allegations without a thorough investigation into the merits of the allegations. Officers are being terminated based on unreliable or little or no evidence to support the ultimate disciplinary action of termination. Officers are being embarrassed, humiliated, and having their reputation slandered based on unfounded allegations and minimal or no supporting evidence. This has resulted in litigation that based on public information requests, has cost the City in excess of $200,000 in legal fees from an outside attomey. Several of these situations have been tumed over the District Attomey’s office for prosecution. As of this date, the District Attorney has not accepted any of these cases for prosecution, and yet, the Chief terminates the officers. Page 33 of 42