The two officials trade pointed memos over a dispatcher's refusal to release arrest details.
By ALEX LEARY
Published September 3, 2003
PORT RICHEY - When a resident and two City Council members phoned City Manager Vince Lupo to inquire about a Labor Day arrest stemming from a parking violation, Lupo made a call of his own - to the city's dispatch center.
The response, Lupo said, was inconceivable.
Lupo said the dispatcher refused to provide information, saying his union representative and supervisor ordered him not to answer Lupo's questions. Lupo then spoke with the dispatch supervisor, who told him he would need to call Police Chief Bill Downs to get any information.
Still bothered by the incident, Lupo on Tuesday sent Downs a stern memo.
"These actions are blatantly unacceptable!" Lupo wrote. "I am ordering you to immediately countermand any orders given to police personnel to "refuse information to the city manager' when that information is not protected by law!"
Lupo was alerted to the situation by council members Phyllis Grae and Pat Guttman and a resident. Lupo told the Times that he could have first called Downs, but believed the chief had relatives visiting.
Downs, whose department is facing staffing cuts including the dispatch center, replied with a memo of his own.
"I am surprised and dismayed that you would believe that I have established any orders directing police personnel to refuse to provide information to you. No such orders, policies or procedures exist."
But the chief went on to write that it would be "imprudent and reckless" for dispatchers to provide information when they do not have all the specifics, and that it always has been department policy that reports must be cleared by a supervisor prior to release "to prevent compromising any criminal investigations."
The ticket and subsequent arrest are sure to stir critics of the Police Department.
Officer James Ruland - who earlier this year handed out tickets near the house of City Council member Dale Massad and also stopped mayoral candidate Bob Leggiere on suspicion of drunken driving - said Deborah Clark's car was parked on the wrong side of the road with its left wheels about 2 feet from the front yard of 5027 Waterside Drive on Monday evening.
When he attempted to issue a traffic citation, Ruland wrote in a report, Clark threw her identification at him, striking him in the neck. She also yelled at him, "not allowing me to properly conduct my investigation."
Clark, 38, was arrested on a charge of resisting without violence. She was taken to county jail in Land O'Lakes and later released on $500 bail. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
- Alex Leary covers the city of Port Richey. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is leary@sptimes.com
