Search for police chief a test for Zephyrhills

This time, city officials say, they will make sure to check every detail before deciding between the two finalists.

ZEPHYRHILLS - They made the first cut, beating 60 other applicants.

They made the second, squeaking past five more.

Now the two men left standing in the competition for the police chief's job must clear a third hurdle: the background check.

Before naming a replacement for Chief Jerry Freeman, city officials will pore over the records of Clearwater Police Capt. Robert Jones and Russell Barnes, a criminal investigator for the Pasco public defender. The check will cover financial history, property records, and any criminal or ethical blemishes.

But the process also is a test for the city.

City Manager Steve Spina said the city looked into Freeman's background during the last search, less than a year ago. But, he acknowledged, there is room for improvement.

"(This time) we were a little more thorough and took a little more time," Spina said Monday. In last year's search, he said, the search committee didn't conduct a background check until after it had picked Freeman for the job.

When Spina asked for Freeman's resignation July 30, he said he had begun to doubt Freeman's ability to lead the department. Spina cited a lax leadership style, questionable behavior and an investigation in which photographs and evidence went missing.

While colleagues and bosses from Freeman's past gave him high recommendations last year, at least one piece of telling information was missing - a complaint of discrimination by a female officer in Freeman's command at the Hialeah Police Department. That allegation surfaced this summer when a St. Petersburg Times reporter visited Hialeah.

Freeman's personnel file in Hialeah was filled with letters of commendation and praise covering his 22 years there. A 1986 letter from Janet Reno, state attorney in what then was Dade County, praised his help in securing witnesses for a case.

But his record in Hialeah also contained a formal Internal Affairs investigation from 1997, in which a female detective said Freeman had treated her unfairly.

The Hialeah department ruled the complaint unfounded and, after five years, purged the investigation from Freeman's file.

Officials in Zephyrhills did not know it existed.

"It's something we should have known about," Spina said.

Investigators in Hialeah interviewed a dozen officers about the allegations - namely that Freeman singled out the woman over the way she dressed and held her to different work standards than the men in the same squad.

The probe found no wrongdoing on Freeman's part. The finding of fact states: "Lt. Freeman exercises command and control . . . through a well-defined hierarchy of authority by enforcing a system of rules covering the duties of employees . . . so that organizational objectives can be accomplished."

Still, Spina said, knowledge of the allegations would have been valuable.

"If we had known that, then we could have used that and maybe gone a few steps further . . . doing more thorough checks and finding out if that was isolated," he said. "It might have given us a little more information that may or may not have changed our minds."

This week, two Zephyrhills officers are in Clearwater and New Port Richey to learn what they can about Barnes and Jones.

Sgt. Jeff McDougal said he and the department's background investigator, Ken Gray, are working on standard checks, which include personnel files, internal affairs files, Florida Department of Law Enforcement records and personal references. They're even walking house to house, talking to the men's neighbors.

No one went to Hialeah during last year's search.

"We thought that it might be a little more prudent to go a little more in-depth and talk to a few more people," Spina said.

Information regarding financial history can shed light on how a chief will perform on the job, he said.

"It could give you an indication of how they operate the public purse in their department," Spina said, "what their financial abilities are, things along that line."

Mayor Cliff McDuffie, during job interviews with each candidate, asked pointedly about any "skeletons" from their pasts.

The Times' background checks on each man revealed no red flags. Barnes sought bankruptcy protection in October 2000, claiming almost $70,000 in debt, according to records. He said during his interview that he was suspended once from the Pinellas Park Police Department for accidentally firing his gun inside the station.

Jones, during his interview, said he was cited in Clearwater in 1986 for unauthorized use of a city vehicle. The background check on him turned up no other noteworthy facts.

Spina hopes to make a selection this week and present a name to City Council for approval at its Oct. 27 meeting.

Said Spina: "Hopefully we've learned a little over the course of the last year and will come out of this a little bit ahead."

- Molly Moorhead covers news about Zephyrhills. She can reached at 352 521-5757, ext. 21, or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 21. Her e-mail address is moorhead@sptimes.com

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