NOTE: Former Police Chief Ray Peterson was in town this week to help Tom Oosterhoudt in his successful campaign for City Commissioner. Seeing him brought back a lot of memories about how he was treated by our City government. This editorial, perhaps still timely, was first published in KWTN on July 25, 1997.
In a desperate attempt to stop the public hemorrhaging of our city government's credibility, red-faced city managers did what they had to do to try to head off more embarrassment and humiliation. They agreed to an embarrassing and humiliating settlement with Police Chief Ray Peterson. After swearing for months, with semi-straight faces, that all of those charges against the Chief were true, they've now said, in essence, "We were just kidding." They have admitted— in writing— what most citizens knew all along: That all the charges in that big blue book produced by City manager Julio Avael and his cronies in the police department were bogus. Trumped up. Had no merit. Unfounded.
And that's just what a newly-placed memo in Chief Peterson's personnel file says: "The attached charges are deemed unfounded."
In return, Peterson agreed to retire at the full rank of Police Chief with all back pay and benefits. And he agreed not to sue the city's socks off.
There are some who are now saying that this settlement should now bring to a close one of the most bizarre chapters in the history of a city with lots of bizarre chapters. Let's forget it and move on, they say. The "Peterson Incident" is over. We agree with the "let's move on" part. But forget it? Never. Those who are responsible for this shameful debacle won't get away with it that easily.
While it was City Manager Julio Avael and a group of traitorous back-biters in the police department who came up with those bogus charges, four members of the City Commission had to support that charade to make it work. Those four were: Mayor Dennis Wardlow, Commissioner Harry Bethel, Commissioner Percy Curry and Commissioner Merili McCoy.
No, we don't think it's over. Not by a longshot.