Stephens not appreciated

What did you expect?

Scott Stephens was the one person who stepped up in October 2011, taking on the leadership role when Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and Assistant Police Chief Jim Nicks abandoned the department. He was actually doing three jobs (major, assistant chief and chief) trying to keep the department together during that period.

Last January, (Mayor) Condon appointed him interim police chief and he continued to guide the department, solving a couple of high profile homicides and terminating an officer for disciplinary problems.

Meanwhile, Condon was out recruiting Straub and setting up a bogus selection process so he could pretend to solicit input from the community. Concurrently, Stephens was directing the department through a most difficult period in recent history, with the sudden death of a fellow officer (Kurt Henson) and two deputies being wounded in a gun battle.

In October, Straub assumed the chief’s position and within two months knew whom he wanted to replace Stephens with. Stephens got a pat on the head for his efforts and a demotion to a paper-pushing captain. No wonder Stephens did not take the demotion well.

But Straub, don’t expect your newly promoted leaders to ever tell the emperor he has no clothes, because they won’t.

Dave McGovern

Spokane