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The investigation of police Chief Mack Vines continues into his disciplinary actions.
By LEANORA MINAI and BRYAN GILMER
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 18, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- First Deputy Mayor Tish Elston spent five hours reviewing the disciplinary decisions of police Chief Mack Vines, then the two met late Monday before calling it a day.
As they chatted, 17 people outside the police station marched in a circle, calling for Vines' removal.
Vines, at the helm 10 weeks, said he hopes he will survive the inquiry into his management style and his controversial remark on Dec. 4 in which he likened the actions of an arrested black man to an orangutan. Asked whether the mayor's administration still has confidence in the chief, Elston responded: "That's a decision that we're pondering."
Elston will submit a report to Mayor Rick Baker by Friday, but said her findings will not change any of Vines' disciplinary rulings. Instead, she said she is "just looking to understand the process and logic to the decisions."
"I think it's appropriate to give the mayor a level of comfort that things are not changing course, especially when the mayor's initial guidance was, "Stay the course,' " Elston said.
After Baker appointed Vines in September, he instructed the new chief to keep the police department moving in a community-friendly direction established by his predecessor, Goliath Davis III.
But some African-American residents have raised concerns that the police department is more heavy-handed and less respectful under Vines than it was under Davis, the city's first black chief.
But police records on the number of drug arrests and drug search warrants since Vines became chief is on track with those of Davis' former administration.
And internal affairs investigations -- the most serious inquiries of officers' actions -- have not increased in the nearly three months that Vines has been chief, said Maj. J.R. Thompson, who runs Internal Affairs.
Less serious investigations -- those handled by supervisors on a bureau level -- are down in Vines' nearly three months, Thompson said.
As Elston reviews Vines' disciplinary philosophy and record, at least two cases involving one officer shed light on the difference between Vines and former chief Davis.
In August, Sgt. David Lindsay, supervisor of one of the city's three street narcotics unit, got a complaint from a resident about drug dealing.
Lindsay told the resident he did not have adequate staffing in his narcotics squad. Lindsay said he had only three officers available in his district, and that they had been assigned at the time to work a traffic detail. The resident called City Hall.
Lindsay, under the Davis administration, received a memorandum of counseling for making "improper comments." Lindsay called the discipline "mean-spirited."
"I treat my customers as mature, educated adults," Lindsay wrote in a rebuttal to his discipline. "I do not lie to them nor do I use them to embarrass my staff."
Under Chief Vines in October, Lindsay came under scrutiny again.
During a call, Lindsay noticed marijuana and drug paraphernalia inside a residence, but the resident would not let Lindsay search the house. Lindsay notified the state attorney's office and got a search warrant himself.
He seized 50 marijuana plants and several thousand dollars of equipment used to grow pot. But he also got in trouble.
Lt. Donnie Williams issued a memorandum of counseling because Lindsay did not first notify a commander or vice and narcotics about the search warrant before calling the state attorney's office for the search warrant.
Lindsay appealed to Vines, who said he withdrew the discipline.
"He was doing exemplary police work," Vines said. "He had the experience and took it upon himself to go ahead and carry through. He's doing his job, and he did his job."
Meanwhile, four City Council members speculated Monday that Baker will keep Vines.
"I have had a couple of conversations with my friend the mayor and I know what his concerns are," council member Bill Foster said. "While I see the comment as potentially insightful, I don't see it as grounds for dismissal. I don't believe Vines intended any ill will by it and I do not believe he was referring to a person's skin color."
Council members Virginia Littrell, Jay Lasita and James Bennett all said that Vines had made a serious mistake, but that it is time to move on.
The St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP plans to meet tonight at 7 for a question-and-answer session with Vines.
-- Staff writer Curtis Krueger contributed to this report. Staff writer Leanora Minai can be reached at minai@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8406.