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A troubled Mack Vines turned to the former St. Petersburg police chief for help. Yet others say they see Davis' hand in Vines' firing.
By LEANORA MINAI and BRYAN GILMER, Times Staff Writers
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 22, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- Former police Chief Goliath Davis III kept a low public profile while his successor, Mack Vines, fought a losing battle to remain chief.
But behind the scenes, Davis continued to wield influence.
When Vines realized he was in trouble after using the word orangutan, he asked Davis to talk with his police command staff, which served under Davis.
When Mayor Rick Baker was pondering Vines' fate, he consulted with Davis.
And when Vines was fired after just 10 weeks on the job, and Chuck Harmon became chief, Harmon said he would seek advice from Davis.
Davis, now deputy mayor for Midtown economic development, has declined repeated requests to discuss the Vines situation.
Public records obtained by the Times on Friday show Davis remains in touch with high-ranking police officers. During the weeklong Vines controversy, Davis traded telephone calls with Assistant Chief Luke Williams, Maj. Cedric Gordon and Lt. Donnie Williams, though Davis said the calls were about other matters.
Officers and longtime Police Department observers say Vines had a tough time winning over the high-ranking police administrators intensely loyal to Davis, many of whom are African-American. Davis was the city's first black chief.
"Mack Vines' style and chief Davis' style are two different styles of policing," said Bill Doniel, who was the department's spokesman for 25 years.
From the get-go, Baker said he wanted a new chief with the community standing, work ethic and character of Davis. Baker picked Vines, lauded for promoting minorities while chief previously in St. Petersburg and three other cities, and told him to stay the Davis course.
Although things may have been chilly between Vines and some senior officers, other officers said Vines was becoming popular -- more popular than Davis -- among residents and the rank-and-file.
"For those who support him, he has something bordering on icon status," City Council member Jay Lasita said of Davis. "Those who oppose him? The most extreme vilify him."
Where Davis was widely viewed as a micromanager and strict disciplinarian, Vines told officers to have fun, be aggressive but show empathy. Vines also withdrew some disciplinary decisions Davis and his staff had imposed. And Vines also talked publicly about saturating drug holes, while Davis had been seen by critics as soft on drugs.
"When Chief Vines took over, he told us if we were afraid to do our job because we feared discipline, those days are over," Sgt. Earl Rutland said.
Some of Davis' loyalists -- Assistant Chief Williams, Sgt. Al White and Maj. Gordon -- all declined to comment.
"We're in a position now where we just need to move forward, and the more you talk about that stuff, the more it keeps us bogged down," Luke Williams said Friday.
After 10 weeks on the job, Vines had not appointed his own command staff. Before he was fired, Vines said he was assessing that.
The highest ranking black police administrators did not attend a staff Christmas party with Vines. And Vines was alone when he attended a controversial neighborhood meeting with black activists in the days before the orangutan comment went public.
Bill LauBach, police union attorney, said a few days after Vines took over Oct. 5, union representatives met with Vines and told him "there was a group of individuals who were out to undermine his administration."
"I think that Davis' imprint is all over this," LauBach said. "Vines didn't get fired for racism. That was never an issue. He got fired because he didn't follow the company line, and Baker has simply yielded to the community that is most vocal, the minority."
Vines made the orangutan reference Dec. 4 while talking about discipline and use of force with 53 detectives. He said it might be necessary, in some instances, for as many as four officers to restrain a suspect who is acting like an orangutan. Several officers in the room thought Vines was talking about a black man who resisted arrest during a drug investigation. Some were offended.
That comment filtered through an African-American community where many people consider Davis a favorite son and trust and admire him.
Elzo Atwater, an African-American businessman, owns American Sunday Plate catering. He said Davis is so credible because though Davis has earned plenty of money and a doctorate, he has stayed in his home city and has tried to improve it.
Vines turned to Davis for help.
"He asked Chief Davis to talk with his staff to see if some things could be rectified," said Harmon, who attended the meeting.
But Davis, who attended the September news conference at which Baker named Vines as chief, did not publicly endorse Vines during the orangutan controversy.
Although Baker said he talked to Davis and other members of his "cabinet" during the Vines controversy, Baker said he can't remember any key advice from Davis. He also said he never asked for, and Davis never offered, an opinion about whether Vines should be fired.
"He wanted to be very careful throughout this that he didn't become the main influence," Baker said. "He felt it was my decision, and he didn't want to affect that."
Entering Davis' new office in City Hall, there are few signs of the 28 years he spent at the St. Petersburg Police Department. In fact, many of his possessions from the police station remain packed in boxes in his office.
Baker said Davis is weary of police issues.
"He was ready to, and he did, retire from the Police Department," Baker said.