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Chief wrestles job, family challenges
By LEANORA MINAI, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- What most people don't know about Chuck Harmon's first seven months as police chief is that while he listened to residents' concerns about speeders, prostitutes and crack dealers, he was dealing with another pressing matter. His wife, Lori. What if she died during surgery to clamp a brain aneurysm? Did she want to be buried, or cremated? Three months after Harmon replaced ousted Chief Mack Vines, he learned his wife had a sac on a main artery to her brain. While caring for her, Harmon has had to deal with a shrinking patrol force, criticism over the city's drug-fighting strategy and questions about his political acumen. "I think he did a remarkable job just being able to show up at work," said Bill LauBach, executive director of the police union. Harmon, who joined the Police Department 20 years ago, is adjusting to the chief's job. He has taken over at a time when crime statistics have started inching upward. "It wasn't my intent to come in here and do anything differently," said Harmon, 42. "I was happy with the organization and where it was headed. I didn't think a lot of things needed changing." Residents and officers say he has been a stabilizing force during tense moments, such as when explosive devices were tossed at street narcotics officers early this year. Supporters say he's easier to approach than his predecessors. "I'm very pleased with the progress Chuck's made," says Mayor Rick Baker, Harmon's boss. But some critics want him to be more visible. Others say he has been slow to address the department's more urgent problems. And some residents question his commitment because he's not a city resident, a job requirement. "With a C being average, I would give him a C plus," said City Council member Bill Foster. "I see our police force no better or worse than under prior administrations." Recruiting a problemHarmon's biggest challenge is getting people to apply to the Police Department and stay. The department is short 36 patrol officers -- the men and women who respond to emergency calls, according to the most recent roster. "The neighborhoods have less coverage," said LauBach, the union executive director. The shortage means that officers are pinballing from call to call, with fewer of them available to back up officers on dangerous calls and more spent on overtime, LauBach said. Officers' days off are being canceled so off-duty jobs like baseball at Tropicana Field can be filled. Not enough officers are volunteering for extra work. "The only thing I see that's worsening is we can't take a day off without someone covering our shift," said Keith Edwards, 30, a four-year officer. Last year, 41 officers quit the department -- a 64 percent increase from resignations in 2000. The department is likely to reach that figure again. So far this year, 26 officers have quit. At least nine of those left for other agencies like the Tampa Police Department and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Meanwhile, the department is bracing for Jan. 1, 2004, when 65 of its most seasoned officers are eligible to retire. The chief has formed a committee of 20 officers and administrators to come up with solutions. They meet next week. He would not reveal his own proposals for solving the staffing shortage or recruiting drought. He said he wants to leave that up to the committee. "I'm looking for noneconomic stuff -- stuff that doesn't have a heavy price tag with it," Harmon said. Putting focus on drugsA few months into his job, after news reports that drug arrests dropped 19 percent in 2001 compared to 2000, Harmon admitted the department needed to refocus its drug enforcement efforts. Parting from his predecessor, former Chief Goliath Davis III, Harmon instituted special patrols of drug holes. Under pressure from residents and City Council members, he supported inviting undercover sheriff's deputies into the city to help officers. "It says we're going to try to take care of crimes in the neighborhood instead of totally disregarding it," said Officer Roy Olsen, 44, who joined the department 22 years ago. Since mid May, Pinellas deputies have been helping officers. Despite the help, the number of drug arrests citywide dropped from 191 in May to 101 in June, the latest month for which statistics are available. The June total was the lowest for city drug arrests in four years. Harmon has declined to discuss why the numbers were down for June. "I'm not concerned," he said. "Those numbers, at any given time, can go back up." Many people believe Harmon has been more aggressive on drugs than former Chief Davis, though Harmon still has critics. Kimberly Simpkins, 35, lives near the corner of 12th Avenue S and 12th Street. She says young men peddling crack no longer block her driveway. She says the men moved up the street. "The only difference is it's no longer right there in front of my door," she said. Praise and criticismHarmon has impressed community leaders with his political acuity and ability to listen, though council members say he does not visit City Hall often. "I've not talked to Chuck myself in at least 60, maybe 90 days," said City Council member Jay Lasita. Darryl Rouson, president of the NAACP chapter in St. Petersburg, lauded Harmon for fostering harmony with the African-American community. "He has maintained certain black leaders within the department for whom the African-American community has great respect," Rouson said. "By doing so, he's shown some continuity and trust." But many wish Harmon, a Pinellas Park resident, would move to St. Petersburg. "We need a chief who lives here," said resident Lorraine Margeson, a crime watch member. "Someone who's going to come in and say, 'I'm with the troops. I'm with the people because I care that much.' " Harmon says he will move to the city when his wife gets better. "Until she recovers, it's not even an issue in our family," he said. Wife develops aneurysmHarmon has said little publicly about his wife's illness. He even kept it from the rank and file. Mrs. Harmon, a petite, down-to-earth woman, said the chief didn't want people constantly asking, "How's Lori? How's Lori? How's Lori?" Just after their 16th wedding anniversary in March, Mrs. Harmon, 44, underwent a CAT scan. She wanted to know why she was dizzy all the time. Doctors told her of the aneurysm. They said that if it blew, she probably wouldn't make it to the hospital alive. A specialist in Miami explained the risks of operating: She could die during surgery if she had a seizure, be partially paralyzed or, most likely, lose vision in one eye for a while. "Chuck went with the mantra that, 'Everything's going to be okay, everything's going to be okay," Mrs. Harmon said. Two days before the surgery, she and her husband sat on the back porch of their Pinellas Park home and talked about what to do if something went wrong. He wanted to know if she wanted to be buried. She preferred cremation. He asked what to do with her remains. "I told him that was up to him and the kids," Mrs. Harmon said. Mrs. Harmon said her husband stayed focused at work, a trait she is accustomed to. "He has always compartmentalized everything," she said. "Work stays at work, and house stays at house." Over the past several months, Harmon has had trouble sleeping. He cried a week before the surgery, when his wife told him she feared dying. On June 12, they drove to Miami for the operation. Doctors took five hours cutting and drilling through her skull to get to the aneurysm. Then, another hour clamping the sac with a titanium clasp. Her prognosis looks good. Every year or two, she'll have to go to the hospital for a special test to make sure the clamp is okay and that she does not get a second aneurysm. Harmon denies rumors that he will step down as chief because of his wife's condition. "My intent is to stay here as chief for 25 years of service," he said. After the surgery, Harmon cleared his calendar of evening appointments for 30 days, so he could care for her and their two teenagers: cooking, shopping for groceries and washing clothes. "I'm not doing as much at night because of my wife," Harmon said. Harmon is slowly returning to his routine. The 7 p.m. neighborhood meetings are slipping back into his schedule. "There's times when I'm out," Harmon said, "that I'd rather be home."
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