Medford mail tribune., April 25, 1956, Image 6

SIX -MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Wednesday, April 23, ISS8
Police Chief Replies to Mayor On Charges Against Department
xuiiuwjus is me icxi ui a re-;izauons sucn as tne league oi,j. tmciency neporxs
port prepared by Police Chief ; Oregon Cities, etc. j It was pointed out to the of-
Charlet Chamolin fnr Mavnri 4- Standardize and set out in j f icers that the efficiency report
, ..... ,. ! writing the responsibilities and form recommended by Sgt. Beall
tan Aimer, regarding a.lega-: duUes o aU officers and patrol-!is used by the Department and
tions made last week about the'
men including a schedule of
administration of the police de- hours, responsibility lor convic-
partment: .j tions, responsibility for reports,
To: Honorable Mavor Earl Miller j assignment of duties of patrol
From: Charles P. Champlin, ' me" n shlft wllen lack of tlme
Chief of Police " i prevents doing all things. Sched-
Date: April 23, 1956 j uIin8 of supervisory personnel
' snouia inciuae a iegmai sum
at night and especially on night
shifts or weekends.
The following report is being .
submitted for the purpose of Out
lining tVio fa,t ith rftffarH in
the allegations that were made 5. Concentrated effort be made
in a local newspaper, lne;lu ""
Times," Rogue River, Oregon,
under publication date of April
20, 1956, and also in answer to
a letter of suggestions submitted
to me on March 23, 1956, at a
meeting attended by approxi
mately 12 officers of the De-i
partment. This letter is also in
cluded in the newspaper article.
One patrolman acted as spokes
man for the group.
This letter of suggestions will
be considered first in this report
and the answers that were given
by me are set forth following
the copy of this letter.
Medford. Oregon
March 23, 1956
Charles P. Champlin
Chief, Medford Police Depart
ment Medford, Oregon
On behalf of a number of the
officers of our Police Depart
ment, the following recommen
dations are respectfully submit
ted in order that the Department
may be improved and problems
facing the individual officers
dealing with the Department as
a whole may be solved:
1. Legal Department
a. A permanent plan be adopt
ed so that complaints signed by
individuals not members of the
Department can be obtained at
all reasonable hours be put in
force as soon as possible. It is
suggested that a clerk of the
City Court be appointed who
would be available, especially
during the night hours, to verify
the complaints.
Complaints Signed
b. Complaints would be signed
by officers not on the day shift
but signed immediately upon
coming on shift or immediately
upon going off shift where the
shift ends early in the morning.
' c. Revision of the traffic code
to conform with the State Traf
fic Code and revision of the
present City Ordinances by
standardizing them with the rec
ommended ordinances with the
League of Oregon Cities.
d. Support of the Police De
partment and the Municipal
Court by having the legal work
and trials fully handled by the
Office of the City Attorney.
2. Civil Service
A plan should be set up to
Insure that an officer may look
forward to a permanent position
not subject to dismissal without
the right of a hearing before a
competent and disinterested
board, not connected with the
City Administration or the Po
lice Department as paid em
ployees. 3. Efficiency Reports
! Standardize the efficiency re
ports to conform with the recom
mendations of Sgt. Beale, other
Police Departments and organ-
ment at full strength so that
several men will not have to
carry the full burden of a shift.
6. That material be available
to all members of the depart
ment from any conventions, in
struction meetings or schools at
tended by one or two members
of the department.
7. That a representative com
mittee of the department be se
lected to permit minor griev
ances and complaints to be han
dled without prejudice to the
officer involved.
Prevent Loss
We feel that action on the
above recommendations is neces
sary to prevent loss of personnel
in the near future and to estab
lish definite standards by which
the individual officers will know
where they are going. We know
that some of these matters have
been discussed for a period of
several years and although there
must have been many difficul
ties, we have been unable to see
any real results. It is our pur
pose to attempt to work these
things out so that the depart
ment may work as a unit and
we, as individuals, may make
suggestions without fear of per
sonal reprisal by any- of the
members. We fully intend to
attempt to work this out within
the' department arid feel that if
it can be worked out, all of the
members will be able to remain.
There is no intention of creating
any complications outside of the
department.
Following are my answers, re
ferred to by number and letter,
which will indicate clearly the
position taken by me:
1. Legal Department
a. It is a recognized fact that
court complaints must be signed
in the presence of the City Mag
istrate. If the suggestion were
followed, it would mean that the
City would have to have a Judge
on duty 24 hours a day.
b. The answer to this is the
same as a. above.
c. Plans are underway by the
City Administration at the pres
ent ""time to have this accom
plished. d. The answer to this is the
same as c. above.
It was explained to the offi
cers that the City Administration
was proposing in the 1956-1957
budget that a full time City At
torney be hired for the purpose
of handling the court procedures
as well as revamping and mod
ernizing many of the City Ordi
nances. 2. Civil Service
It is the responsibility of the
City Administration and not the
Chief of Police as to whether
or not the Police Department
operates under Civil Service.
that a second efficiency report
form used by the Department
was set up and planned by the
Oregon State Civil Service Com
mission during the Civil Service
Survey which was conducted for
the City of Medford in 1954.
Methods of Accomplishment
4. All of the duties and the
methods of accomplishing them
are set out in writing in the re
cruit training material used by
the Department and also in other
printed material. Each patrol
man knows his duty hours. On
the 2 night shifts, usually each
of the 2 Sergeants is on duty
on weekends. .
5. A constant recruiting pro
gram is carried on by the De
partment by several different
methods. At the present time
there are 2 vacancies for patrol
men. I feel that the citizens of
Medford are entitled to the high
est type of officers that it is
possible- to obtain when all of
the factors are considered.
Among the things that the De
partment has done in attempting
to secure personnel to fill va
cancies is to discuss the matter
at officers meetings with the
idea that some of the officers
might know of some person they
would suggest as an applicpnt.
This procedure is recognized as
the best source of manpower. In
addition to this the Department
has, through the courtesy of the
Medford Mail Tribune, had sev
eral articles published listing
the fact that the department did
desire applicants. Appeals have
been made also, through the
courtesy of KBES-TV, local tele
vision station. Oregon State Po
lice Headquarters in Medford
has been contacted'' and they
have furnished us with names of
possible applicants.
6. An effort is always made
to make available the knowledge
gained by members of this De
partment when they have at
tended schools or conventions.
7. It was pointed out to the
officers by me that a grievance
committee within the Depart
ment would be an undesirable
arrangement for the reason that
the responsibility for discipline
clearly rests on the shoulders of
the administrative officers. This
is a recognized fact in any or
ganization. At officers meetings
which are held once a month, a
portion of the time is devoted to
considering suggestions made by
the officers themselves.
The last paragraph of the let
ter was discussed with the of
ficers and it was pointed out by
the spokesman for the group
that it was expected of me to
more or less name a date by
which all of the suggestions in
the letter could be accomplished.
This I refused to do and in
formed the group that I was not
being placed under any dead
line date or any other undue
pressures to see that all of the
items were accemplished. It will
be noted that the responsibility
for the accomplishment of some
of the suggestions would rest
w-ith other persons other than
the Chief of Police. At this point
in the meeting it was made
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known to me by the spokesman i
for the group that if the sugges
tions were not accomplished,
most of the officers would be
leaving the Department. Since
the meeting 2 of these officers
have left the Department, one
for family reasons and one to
accept another position.
A great deal of thought has
been given to this entire matter
and it is my conclusion that
most of the difficulty may be
attributed to the efforts of 2 or
3 men. This is not said without
foundation.
Every effort is being con
stantly made to improve the De
partment. The City Administra
tion has done much to help the
Department in the last 3 years
by improving the hours of em
ployment, by increasing wages
and by vigorous support of the
Police Department and its pol
icies. With further reference to the
last paragraph of the letter of
suggestions and particularly to
the part referring to personal
reprisals, I asked the group to
cite any examples of reprisals
that had either happened to them
personally or what they had
known about, and the group
cited no instances.
Second Part
The second part of this report
will consist of thd balance of
the allegations as stated in the
aforementioned newspaper ar
ticle under the heading on the
front page "Cops Rebel Against
Set up, Charge Ticket-Fixing,"
and my answers to those. The
charge is made that "ticket-fixing"
has been a common practice
and that there are "untouch
ables" to whom an officer would
dare not issue a traffic citation
without fear of being reprimand
ed. Along with this allegation it
is stated ' "Cars and trucks be
longing to City Councilmen are
untouchable" '. I feel and have
felt for a long time that the
Police Department is in a very
fortunate position with regard to
this matter, because it is the pol
icy of the Department to issue
citations to all persons, whether
or not they are members of the
City Council. The records of the
Department will clearly indicate
that members of the Medford
City Council have received cita
tions, and that they have paid
their citations the same as any
citizen I h..ve not known of a
City Councilman asking that a
traffic citation be "fixed."
With further reference to
"ticket-fixing" as described in
the "Times" newspaper article,
it is stated that one un-named
patrolman told the "Times" that
he waited until 17 of his traffic
citations had been fixed.
Recently a patrolman became
dissatisfied with the Depart
ment's policies. The circum
stances were that this ex-member
refused to enforce traffic
laws. At this time he was in
structed to enforce the traffic
laws in the same manner that
he had been trained and schooled
and in the way in which he
knew it should be accomplished.
He informed me that he would
not do this and he then resigned.
Traffic Citations
At this time he advised me
that there had been 17 of his
traffic citat'ons "fixed." He said
he knew who the officers were
that "fixed" the tickets but he
refused to tell me who they
were. I asked him to furnish me
the list of names of persons for
whom traffic citations had been
"fixed" and he informed me
that the names were in his note
books at home. (The notebooks
referred to "are furnished to the
members of the Medford Police
Department by the City of Med
ford and are the property there
of.) He w&s then instructed to
secure them immediately. Ap
proximately one hour and twen
ty minutes later the officer re
turned with the notebooks. The
notebooks in question were re'
tained and are presently in the
possession of the Department.
An investigation is being con
ducted to learn the identity of
the individuals involved in the
alleged "fixed' 'tickets but this
has not been completed.
The investigation has revealed
one person who stated that an
officer had destroyed a ticket
which she had been issued. This
ticket was issued by the officer
who alleged to me that 17 of his
tickets had been "fixed."
The officer who was accused
of "fixing" the ticket was inter
rogated and a statement was
taken from him. He said that
the off ict r who issued the ticket
approached him in the station
and told him that he believed
he had issued a citation to a
friend of his. The second officer,
upon hearing the name on the
citation, told the issuing officer
that " she was a friend of his.
It was at this time, according
to the officer, that the issuing
officer suggested that they re
move the citation and complaint
from the Police Department files
and destroy them. This, he said,
they did. As a result of this in
cident, on March 28, 1956, the
officer who gave the above state
ment was suspended from the
Department for 30 days without
pay, pursuant to the "Personnel
Rules for the City of Medford
and set forth under Ordinance
6033, Article 2, Section 110. I
want to make it very clear- at
this time that this patrolman
was not made a "goat" for this
type of activity, but it is felt that
any incident of "ticket-fixing" is
an extremely serious matter and
I will not tolerate it.
No Other 'Fixed
I will assure you that no other
citations have been "fixed" to
the best of my knowledge and
asI stated above, if such inci
dents are developed, it can be
expected that I will take severe
disciplinary action. At times traf
fic citations are voided by the
desk offirei acting under orders
of the City Judge. As a further
thought with regard to "ticket-
fixing", I would like to advise
it is planned tor the immediate
future, that the City of Medford
is going to adopt and use the
uniform traffic citation form as
recommended by the American
Bar Association and the Interna
tional Chiefs of Police Associa
tion. This should eliminate such
incidents as the one in which
the patrolman was involved and
disciplined. With further regard
to the allegation of "ticket-fixing"
it is observed that in one
paragraph of the newspaper
article, the Department is ac
cused of "ticket-fixing" and yet
in another paragraph in the
article, the Department is ac
cused of being too severe in its
disciplinary action.
It is charged in the newspaper
article that I have abused the
use of the patrol cars by having
them deliver copies of the news
papers to my home. On several
occasions patrolmen have
brought a copy of the paper to
my home. In many instances I
did not ask them to do this.
Submitting List
It is charged in another para
graph in the article that one
patrolman was forced to submit
a list of his accounts payable
and receipts for bills to the
Chief and not to run any charge
accounts without the Chief's
authority and that the men felt
that this was an invasion of their
personal affairs. To begin with
I hold the firm belief that police:
officers should, pay their bills
and I don't believe that any right
thinking person will deny this.
I did ask one patrolman to fur
ish me with a list of the bills that
he owed and he did this. I have
received, during the past 2A
years, a number of calls from
merchants in Medford to whom
this officer was indebted and
they asked me what could be
done to get him to pay some of
his bills. In each instance I have
called him in and have tried to
point out to him the importance
of a police officer maintaining
good credit relations with the
merchants. It is a recognized
fact that if a policeman does not
conduct his personal financial
affairs properly, it definitely
brines discredit upon the De
partment. The point in the news-
paper article that I told him he ,
could not charge anything more j
without getting permission from j
me is untrue. I discussed this !
matter with the patrolman onj
April 21, 1956, and he told me j
that the newspaper article was !
in error on this point.
It was charged m the news
paper article that a patrolman
had issued a citation to the Pres
ident of the Medford Chamber
of Commerce for parking in a
zone set aside for out of state
cars. The patrolman stated that
when the citation was turned in
to the station, his Sergeant told
him to -go back to the Chamber
President and apologize-This the
patrolman stated he refused to
do. -
The facts of this allegation
are that approximately 2 years
ago the President of the Cham
ber of Commerce was parked in
the Visitors Parking zone in
front of the Chamber of Com
merce building. The officer,
upon seeing this car, began writ
ing a citation. An office girl who
works for the Chamber of Com
merce saw the officer writing
the citation and immediately
went outside the building and
informed the officer that the
President was on Chamber of
Commerce business and at this
time the officer became, she
said, very discourteous in his
conversation with her.
The manager of the Chamber
of Commerce after hearing from
the office girl about the officer's
discourtesy, immediately called
the police station to make a
complaint in regard to the of
ficer's attitude. During the tele
phone conversation, the man
ager did not mention the traffic
citation.
Apology Urged
The Sergeant who was on
duty at the time told the officer
to go back to the Chamber of
Commerce and apologize to the
office girl for his discourtesy.
The office girl advised that ap
proximately 2 days later the of
ficer came into the Chamber of
Commerce and though she was
out, the officer apologized to one
of the " other girls for his dis
courtesy. Later that day the President
and manager of the Chamber of
Commerce came in to the station
with the citation which was is
sued to the President by the
above officer. It was explained
that the President was on Cham
ber business at the time the cita
tion was issued. I called the issu
ing 'officer in to the station and
after discussing the circum
stances with him, he, the officer,
suggested that the citation be
voided. This was done.
The newspaper article crjarges
that officers enforcing the park
ing meter ordinance are in
structed to issue citations wheth
er or not the person has vio
lated the ordinance. This is un
true and officers are instructed
to issue parking meter citations
only if the meter indicated a
violation. 1
Ken Piland Elected
To College Rally Squad
Portland Ken M. Piland,
Medford, was elected to the col
lege rally squad in general elec
tions held last week.
Piland is a freshman music
major and a member of band,
choir,, orchestra and ensemble.
He is also a pledge of Alpha Rho
Omega fraternity. He is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Piland,
401 west second ave.
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