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Police chief opens up, with car
By LEANORA MINAI, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- On a Tuesday morning radio show, police Chief Chuck Harmon announced, "We are going to continue to move forward." At neighborhood meetings, he said the same. Again, during a well-attended political luncheon Thursday, Harmon vowed: "My pledge is going to be to move the department forward." Wherever he visited last week, this picture emerged: Harmon is here to make nice. He is not an apostle of change. He wants to be a good chief but admits he does not have solutions to persistent problems in the St. Petersburg Police Department, including low morale and high turnover. Harmon is not comfortable in front of microphones. He has worked behind the scenes, joining the department 20 years ago as a patrol officer. "This is a job that I never truly envisioned having as a new officer starting here," said Harmon, 42. "I do care about the organization. I do care about the community, and I took the job for the simple reason that I thought I could help the organization and the city improve, not for a personal fulfillment." Harmon has been answering questions from some residents who believe he will not be aggressive with drug enforcement. They think that is because former police Chief Goliath Davis III was seen by critics as soft on drugs and talked more about treating drug offenders than locking them up. A by-the-book guy, Harmon must win the trust of officers and residents who believe Mayor Rick Baker, who ultimately controls the department's policing style, caters to a small group of outspoken activists led by Omali Yeshitela. "I wouldn't want to be police chief for all the money in the world," said James Bennett, a member of the City Council. Asked about the pressure, Harmon replied, "I'm my own person." Many first impressionsLast week was about first impressions for Harmon, who was promoted from assistant chief of patrol after a stunning turn of events Dec. 18. Two-time former Chief Mack Vines was fired after using the word "orangutan" to describe the actions of a black suspect who was resisting arrest. The mayor's go-to guy was Harmon, a finalist for the job when Vines was hired. To try to heal a divided community, the mayor told Harmon to meet with as many neighborhood associations as possible. Harmon's schedule is booked through April. Today, he will visit churches. "I think it's important to make a good first impression," Harmon said. Harmon launched his campaign last week, speaking on a radio program from a small, blue building nestled in a residential area south of Central Avenue. On his way to WRXB-AM 1590, a station with a mostly African-American audience, a resident flagged down the chief and told him he would be tuning in at 10 a.m. In the cramped broadcast booth, Harmon stood beside police Maj. Cedric Gordon, the program's host. After listening to What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, Gordon introduced the chief, describing him as "no stranger." Gordon and callers peppered Harmon with questions, touching on high officer turnover, Harmon's policing style and his commitment to maintaining a positive relationship between the Police Department and black community. Harmon sounded a lot like Davis, now deputy mayor for midtown economic development. Consider this exchange: Gordon: "Over the past four years, we have put a lot of emphasis on looking at crime from a global and comprehensive perspective in terms of economics. Under your administration, will we continue to look at those types of things?" Harmon: "Yes, we will. The midtown effort with Deputy Mayor Davis now is just getting under way. We will be a major partner in that. We'll continue to look for opportunities for prevention. That's a key that I think really needs to be stressed. Prevention, dealing with our youth . . . when enforcement is the only answer, then we'll do that, but we're going to look at every opportunity to keep people out of jail. But when the time comes, and they're doing something against the law, then we'll have to take enforcement action." A practical approachHarmon's next appointment came later in the evening with the Disston Heights Neighborhood Association. About 60 residents -- all white -- packed a room in the Gladden Park Recreation Center to hear what the new chief had to say. The chief was there with the neighborhood's sergeant and community policing officer, in case residents had questions he could not answer. Before his talk, Harmon administered the oath of office to nine civic association members. "Congratulations," he told them. "You've been sworn in." Then Harmon took a position in front of a lectern, not behind it. Harmon does not like standing behind lecterns. He doesn't come off as polished as Davis and doesn't throw around big, fancy words. He's a down-to-earth guy, a 6-foot-1, 270-pound golfer with a 9 handicap. "This is my first real meeting," he told the Disston Heights residents. He sketched out his biography. A native Floridian and graduate of Florida State University, he lives in Pinellas Park with his wife of 16 years and three children. Taking the chief's job means moving to St. Petersburg. That won't happen until the summer. He joked about letting his wife, Lori, pick the house. "I got sticker shock," Harmon said. He sketched out the crime rate. It's down. He spoke in general terms about crime, stressing the no-brainer: When the economy is thriving, the crime rate drops. When the economy slows, crime goes up. "Don't give me all the blame when it goes up," Harmon said. When Harmon finished talking, he opened up the floor to questions. From the back of the room, resident Wally Cravens told Harmon that the city's drug enforcement has been lacking, "disgraceful." Cravens asked Harmon if he would allow the Pinellas Sheriff's Office to help. "The police are afraid of getting a reprimand even if they make a good, clean bust," Cravens said. Harmon was open. Drug arrests have gone down, he told the group. "I would like to go back and establish that bond," Harmon said. A meeting is being scheduled between Harmon and Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice. Still, Harmon cautioned, "I'm not going to surrender the things that we have in place. I'm going to try to extend a hand to see what we can do." After the meeting, a resident stopped Harmon outside. It was so cold, their breath was visible. Bob Malloy shook Harmon's hand. "You seem like a good guy," he told the chief. Then they launched into a discussion about speeding. Practice dodging the dartsPerhaps Harmon's toughest audience was the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, whose members win a stuffed tiger for asking the toughest question of a speaker. He was asked Thursday about arbitrary disciplinary decisions under Davis, who promoted Harmon twice -- to major and then assistant chief. He was asked to cite initiatives to attract and retain officers. Harmon talked about "marketing" the department better and offering competitive pay, which ultimately is not his decision. "I don't have the answers," he said before taking on other darts, including, "Do you believe that Mr. Vines spoke with the intent of being racially offensive?" "Was his comment racially based?" Harmon replied. "No. Mack Vines is a fine man." After the luncheon, Harmon said he slept fine the night before. He said he is more nervous inside a golf course tee box than before 150 politicos. Yet, he wondered, "How'd I do?" Resident Ingrid Comberg, who has lived here since 1984, said she felt sorry for the chief. "He was dancing on a rope," said Comberg, 61. "I thought he didn't want to offend anybody. He tried very hard to please everybody, and when you want to please everybody, you do not please anybody." -- Leanora Minai can be reached at minai@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8406.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
