By
an overwhelming margin, Springfield police officers have said that they have no
confidence in Chief Kenny Winslow.
“Police
officer morale over the last few years has gotten so low that action needed to
be taken,” wrote Grant Barksdale, president of Police Benevolent and Protective
Association No. 5 in a memo to media outlets sent Monday afternoon.
More
than 80 percent of the city’s officers cast ballots in the no-confidence vote,
according to the union, and 89 percent of those who voted said they
had no confidence in the chief. Neither Winslow nor Mayor Jim Langfelder could
immediately be reached for comment.
“It’s
not one thing, it’s a culmination of numerous things,” Barksdale said in an
interview. “It’s a continued course of conduct.”
Barksdale
said a contract impasse that resulted in binding arbitration did not affect the
union’s opinion of Winslow. Without going into specifics, Barksdale said that the
union has attempted to bring up concerns with Langfelder, but to no avail. He
also said that the mayor, the last line of appeal in formal grievances, has
failed to respond to appeals on matters which Barksdale described as “ongoing
violations of our collective bargaining agreement.”
“Since
I’ve taken over, there have been numerous meetings with the chief and his
staff, numerous grievances,” said Barksdale, who became union president 16
months ago. “Nothing has changed. … The mayor has never given us a response to
our grievances. He never wrote a written response. Obviously, it’s
disheartening.”
How
does the union feel about the mayor?
“I
don’t know that we have any issues with Mayor Langfelder at this juncture,”
answered Barksdale, who wouldn’t say whether Winslow should be fired. “The
biggest thing that we want is a change in the labor climate. It makes no
difference whether it’s with Chief Winslow or another chief.”
Winslow
was named chief in 2013 by former Mayor Mike Houston after former chief Robert
Williams resigned amid controversy over the department shredding internal affairs
files had been requested under the state Freedom of Information Act.
Barksdale
acknowledged that officers are upset by Winslow’s handling of a case involving
former officer Samuel Rosario, who was fired in May after a February
altercation with a man while on duty.
“They’re
not happy about it,” Barksdale said.
The
department released a video of the altercation showing Rosario challenging Robert
Humes, whose mother had called police over a dispute with her daughter, to a
fight and then engaging in fisticuffs. But the city did not release a video that
showed Humes warmly greeting Rosario when the officer returned to the scene and
apologized. “You’ve always got respect down here,” Humes told the officer. The
department also has not released a video that shows Humes telling command-level
officers that Rosario deserved a promotion when officers paid yet another visit
to photograph injuries that Humes suffered during the altercation.
Rosario, who told department investigators that he’d reached a “boiling point,” was immediately suspended without pay before being fired in May. He faces
charges of official misconduct and battery. A trial is set for January.
Barksdale
said that Rosario should have been relieved of duty and that the case may well have played out the way it did no matter what. But officers, he said, are upset by the way Winslow
handled the aftermath, including the department’s failure to release videos
showing Humes praising Rosario in the aftermath of the altercation.
“I
feel they should have released all three (videos),” Barksdale said. “They
showed the complete story. … He (Rosario) should have been relieved. I don’t
know if we want to go into too many details. I think the end result should have
been the same. I think it could have been handled better. I think that is a
case that people are upset about.”
How
can the labor climate be improved?
“That’s
going to be for the mayor to determine, how that’s gong to be taken care of,”
Barksdale said. “We’ve been doing the same thing over and over. We’re not going
to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. That’s what backed
us into this corner.”
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 1, 2017.
