Some say an independent citizens police review board is not needed because the police can police themselves. Maybe they can. But the fact is that they don't. This newspaper and others have documented that over the years. In fact, Police Chief Buz Dillon had me arrested in June of last year because Key West The Newpaper revealed that a police officer had lied in court and that an internal affairs investigator had covered it up.
That police officer was Lt. Al Flowers— who, just last March, was given a choice by the State Attorney: resign or face criminal charges. He resigned. Flowers was the first of five officers to be either arrested or forced to resign on charges ranging from battery to falsification of arrest records. And information continues to seep out from inside the cop shop that reveals that even Flowers' fellow officers were concerned about his "antiquated" methods of policing. The story broke last week that his fellow supervisors even called him into a special meeting last February to ask him to "lighten up". The fact that such a meeting took place was revealed by Lt. Jim Benkoczy in a letter published in the Key West Citizen.
This week, Key West The Newspaper obtained the minutes of that meeting, convened in the City Manager's conference room on February 6, 2002. Here are the highlights. After reading this, you may be amazed that Flowers still had a job at this point. But keep in mind that, while he was being lashed by his fellow supervisors, Chief Dillon was stating publicly that he wished he had a dozen officers like Flowers! We're not making this up.
Present at the February 6 meeting were Capt. Fortune, Lt. Flowers, Officer Allen, Sgt. Vasquez, Lt. Armstrong, Sgt. Benkoczy, Sgt. Hock and Sgt. Williams. The meeting opened with a discussion of what to do with RVs parked illegally at shopping centers. Armstrong revealed what the meeting was really about: He turned to Flowers and asked him to be open-minded and hear him and the rest of the supervisors out.
Armstrong is quoted in the minutes as telling Flowers that he needs to be cautious in how he treats others. Examples: tearing up the arrest affidavits of other officers, dealing with officers and supervisors, his way of enforcing some misdemeanors and being critical of other watches. In general, Armstrong said, Flowers needs to change his ways— the way in which he uses the failure to obey statute, the way he expects other officers to write affidavits.
Sgt. Hock was less diplomatic. He called Flower's management skills "pathetic".
Vasquez said that Flowers had lost touch with the day watch. "Officers don't want to work with him," Vasquez said. "He gets on others too hard. . .his management style is antiquated."
Allen asked Flowers to look at himself in the mirror and accept change and a new style of management.
Even Susan Solares, the Chief's secretary who was there to take notes, chimed in to give Flowers advice. She pointed out to Flowers how difficult it must have been for his fellow supervisors to organize this meeting and that they would not be doing it if they didn't care about him.
Capt. Fortune agreed. "We need to work as a team."
Within a few days after that meeting, the State Attorney announced that Flowers had agreed to resign rather than face charges of misconduct. By March 1, he was outta there.
In his letter to the Citizen, Sgt. Benkoczy observed, "As it turned out, the State Attorney saw to it that Flowers' behavior stopped rather abruptly."
But Chief Dillon had a different attitude. He went on the radio and said it again: "I wish I had a dozen officers like Al Flowers."