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Tampa uncuffed

What's on his mind? Carolina, perhaps

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published August 11, 2005

Officials in the town of Cary, N.C., are set to make a big announcement Monday that just might prompt a big announcement - and a big job opening - at the Tampa Police Department.

Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin confirmed Wednesday that Scott Cunningham, Tampa's assistant police chief in charge of operations, is one of three finalists for the police chief job in Cary, a town of about 110,000 near Raleigh.

Cunningham was a finalist two years ago for the Tampa police chief job that went to Steve Hogue, so it's no secret the 24-year TPD veteran has hopes of leading a department.

Cary town manager Bill Coleman would not confirm whether Cunningham has the job, but news reports in North Carolina have had the search down to three candidates - one of them from Florida. More than five dozen people from across the United States applied for the job, left vacant when Chief Windy Hunter retired after 29 years.

Cunningham could not be reached for comment because he was out of town Wednesday.

Could it be there is truth to the word on the street - that he is in Cary tending to some last-minute matters before town officials introduce him on Monday?

If Cunningham gets the job, he is in for a significant change.

Tampa has about 325,000 residents, with a police department working to counter the unfortunate distinction of being one of the most high-crime cities of its size. Cary has for the past six years been ranked one of the top 10 safest municipalities by the Morgan Quitno Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities report.

Last year, Money magazine named Cary the hottest town in the East and one of six "hottest towns" in America.

SOUNDING OFF ON THE SHERIFF: Tampa attorney Luke Lirot, known for his defense of First Amendment cases, likens the law enforcement chat board site LeoAffairs.com to "a modern-day suggestion box" that allows people to "register their complaints."

Lirot represents the site's operators in their legal dispute with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, whose leaders want to identify through subpoena any deputies who left false, crude and revealing messages about the agency.

Lirot said Wednesday he is confident the courts will rule in favor of his client, "because the courts have been very sensitive to protecting people on the basis of their affiliations."

The Sheriff's Office filed a suit last month asking a judge to stop the site's operators from putting online any deputies' postings that violate the agency's codes of conduct. Sheriff David Gee, the subject of many postings, says the site harms morale and weakens discipline.

Attached to the complaint are copies of the department's codes of conduct, which prohibit derogatory remarks and "public disparagement" of the agency and its policies.

Lirot maintains that people expressing their opinions are largely protected - unless the Sheriff's Office can prove the postings are defamatory.

"Even if there's racially motivated statements, it may not be in good taste, but it's no different than the Nazis marching through Skokie.

"I just don't think any of this rises to the level necessary to pierce the veil of anonymity."

Times staff writer Demorris Lee contributed to this report. Contact Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 11, 2005, 00:42:17]