KEYNOTER: "POLICE MANAGEMENT QUESTIONED"
AVAEL: "WE NEED MORE COMMUNITY POLICING— LIKE CHIEF PETERSON USED TO DO"
It's no longer just us. If you're a regular reader, you know that we've been telling you for months that Police Chief Buz Dillon's department reeks of incompetence and corruption. And it all starts with Dillon himself. Rather than trying to clean up his department, he just looks the other way. He has simply retired down here and it shows. His failure to pay attention is tantamount to condoning and covering up the malfeasance. The macho firing of weapons by officers on a crowded Old Town street. Documented police brutality. Blatant falsification of sworn statements. Obsessive secrecy. Lying— or "blue amnesia"— as acceptable behavior. And on and on and on.
But, now, it's no longer just us uncovering and reporting the indiscretions of Buz and his bully boys. Other media are now picking up on these allegations.
• Solares Hill calls police leadership "AWOL". "There has been inadequate leadership from the top and decision-making that is beyond credulity," wrote Editor David Ethridge.
• The Key West Citizen criticized Dillon for keeping Officer Michael Beerbower on the street even after the State Attorney charged Beerbower with three counts of battering a handcuffed suspect. City Manager Julio Avael finally had Beerbower transferred to desk duty after we reported that he had allegedly terrorized an innocent housesitter while investigating a burglary complaint.
• Other media are now also reporting the growing grassroots movement to create a Police Civilian Review Board here to oversee what some consider an out-of-control Police Department. Pushed by City Commissioner Harry Bethel, City Manager Avael has conducted two sort-of public meetings to solicit input.
• Last Saturday, even the Keynoter newspaper— the only news medium here (other than U.S. 1 Radio) that still consistently kisses Dillon's backside— carried this page one headline: "Police Management Questioned". City Manager Avael was quoted as opining that the Key West Police Department needs better leadership. Is Avael setting Dillon up?
Last July, there was a lot of speculation that Avael was getting ready to dump Dillon. The Citizen quoted Mayor Jimmy Weekley as saying that Avael was considering firing the Chief and, a few days later, ran a page one feature headlined "A History of Troubled Chiefs". Weekley and Avael quickly scrambled to issue a damage-control statement expressing support for Dillon. It was less than convincing, however.
That was shortly after we documented and reported that Lt. Al Flowers had falsified an under-oath statement in court and that Internal Affairs Inspector Bob Christensen had declared a citizen complaint about that lie "unfounded"— without even conducting an investigation.
We infuriated Chief Dillon by asking editorially: "If they would lie about little things, would they also lie about big things?"
Well, over the past few weeks, we have all learned that the answer to that question is "yes". Last month, the State Attorney allowed Flowers to resign to avoid criminal charges that he conspired to falsify an arrest warrant. Buz apparently didn't have a problem with Flowers' alleged lying. He said he was saddened by Flowers' resignation and said he wished he had a dozen officers like him.
In the Beerbower case, we all learned that Inspector Christensen had known about the alleged battery a year before the State Attorney found our about it— but conducted no investigation! And if Christensen knew about it, you know that Buz knew about it.
So what did they do with Beerbower? They sent him to verbal judo class.!
Even when Beerbower was formally charged, Buz refused to take him off the street for 18 days— until there was another incident. Solares Hill called that "thumbing his nose at the citizenry". We agree.
This clown should be out of here! Right now, it may be that it's only KWTN and a few others suggesting that. But keep in mind that, just a few months ago, we stood alone in telling you that Buz Dillon is an incompetent dolt. But we're not alone any more.
Here's what David Ethridge wrote three weeks ago: "Dillon says and does dumb things and staunchly stands by them."
A week earlier, Ethridge crafted what could be the first of a series of Dumb Police Chief jokes: He pointed out that Sheriff Rick Roth had immediately fired a deputy caught having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Had that been a Key West cop, Ethridge suggested, he would have been put on paid administrative leave and charged with following too close.
Ethridge meant that as a funny joke. But we have documented and reported to you that Buz actually promoted an officer to captain who had been forced to resign from the Sheriff's Office for having a sexual affair with a 17-year-old boy, then lying about it when he applied for a job with the KWPD. We're not making this up.
How can Buz save his job? Perhaps, according to a quote by the City Manager in the Keynoter last Saturday, he might try to be more like former Police Chief Ray Peterson. Avael: "I think (police) management needs to have it's finger on the pulse of the community more . . . We've gotten away from community policing— the kind of thing that Chief Peterson did."
That may be tough for Dillon to do. First of all, he sure ain't no Chief Peterson. And, secondly, he doesn't even live in the city. Community policing? His "community" is somewhere up the Keys.