Couple say police office is 'hostile'

An officer and his wife ask for an investigation into the problems and biases within the Pinellas Park Police department.

By ANNE LINDBERG

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 23, 2000

PINELLAS PARK -- A police officer and his wife, fed up with problems and the "hostile" working conditions in the Police Department, have called for an outside investigation into the situation.

In the letter asking for the investigation, Debbie Prichard said that departmental problems with bias and unfair treatment extend to officers' spouses.

She is the wife of Charles Prichard, who has worked in the Pinellas Park Police Department for about 20 years. He is one of two male officers who have filed union grievances against the department alleging that they are on an upper management "hit list."

Mrs. Prichard had her own complaints.

"If you honestly believe there is no morale problem in the department, no retaliation on the part of administration, and that everything is hunky-dory with the exception of "a few disgruntled employees,' as they like to put it, then everyone that works there is in real trouble," Mrs. Prichard wrote in a letter to City Manager Jerry Mudd.

Mrs. Prichard said she was wrongly suspected of being the anonymous caller who complained during a call-in show because a police captain who was accused of beating his wife was neither investigated by Pinellas Park officials nor disciplined. The captain was never charged with spousal abuse.

Mrs. Prichard also accused a Pinellas Park police sergeant of overriding an investigating officer's conclusion that allegations she had committed child abuse on her job were unfounded. The effect was to have the file forwarded to the State Attorney's Office for investigation and the temporary loss of her job and income while the incident was being investigated. Mrs. Prichard said she has since been cleared.

"An outside investigation of the Police Department needs to take place, i.e., by the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., et al," she wrote in a letter to City Manager Jerry Mudd and council members.

"I know there are many officers putting their faith in you at this time, hoping this situation will be remedied once and for all," Mrs. Prichard wrote. "Not to mention a large number of wives, such as myself."

Officer Prichard wrote his own letter to Mudd.

Referring to the complaint he had filed with the union, Officer Prichard wrote, "In this grievance I requested an outside investigation be done to look into the hostile working environment we are faced with each day."

Officer and Mrs. Prichard's pleas for an outside investigation came just days before the City Council is scheduled to decide whether to hire an outside consultant to look into working conditions in the department. Mudd is recommending such a consultant be hired after an in-house study found communication problems and disrespect for others within the department.

If hired, the consultant would survey all 130 department employees, from the chief to captains, lieutenants, sergeants, officers, dispatchers, clerks, secretaries and code officers.

"I know how a handful of employees feel about the organizational climate in the Police Department," Mudd said Friday. "I would like to know how all of the employees individually feel about the organizational climate in the Police Department."

The city has received bids from five companies ranging from about $10,000 to $68,480, he said.

But it's necessary, Mudd said, for a department that has come under fire from angry employees. Three female officers, two still employed by the department, have filed claims of sexual harassment and discrimination with federal and state agencies.

In two of the cases, internal investigations by the city's personnel department have found no sexual harassment or discrimination. City officials are still looking into the third officer's charges.

Just days later, two male officers filed union grievances alleging they were named on a "hit list" of older employees who were seen as disruptive and uncooperative. City officials are also looking into those complaints, Mudd said.

Mrs. Prichard's charges are the latest to come to city officials' attention. Mudd said they are taking them seriously and investigating them as well.

While Officer Prichard thinks an outside investigation is needed, he said he doubts an outside consultant will do the job needed.

"I personally feel that going to the expense of hiring an outside consultant is simply a waste of taxpayers' money," Prichard wrote Mudd.

Department administrators have already met twice with officers and distributed surveys to employees, he said.

"Can you guess what the outcome was?" Officer Prichard asked. "Absolutely nothing was done about any of the concerns expressed and when the identity of the "complainers' was learned, more of that nonexistent retaliation was spread about."

Officer Prichard urged an outside investigation be done.

"There is a difference between an outside investigation and the hiring of an outside consultant," he wrote. "If the second route is chosen, I strongly believe this gives rubber-stamp approval for the continuation of the managerial incest that has been going on for a number of years."

Mudd disagreed. In a letter to Officer Prichard, the city manager explained his position.

"The purpose of the climate assessment will be to collect employee feedback concerning the work environment within the Police Department and provide recommendations for improving that environment," Mudd said. "I will personally guide the implementation of the recommendations adopted by the city."

If you're interested

The Pinellas Park City Council will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss hiring an outside consultant to evaluate employee morale and conduct in the Police Department. The meeting will be in the council chambers at City Hall, 5141 78th Ave. N. It is open to the public.

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