ESTÚPIDO SAVANNAH - Wed Jan 07 2009 21:54:10
Mark your calendars!
January 15th!
THURSDAY! THURSDAY! THURSDAY!
It’s a SUPER POWER SHOWDOWN at Savannah City Hall as the DARK OVERLORD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT takes on BIG BOSS MAN MICHAEL BROWN!
That is how the City should advertise the upcoming Council Workshop when the electeds can finally find out why their police chief seem to speak with forked tongue.
They have asked for the face time in order to clear up a few recent unexpected moves like closing two police precincts without advance notice or public input, contradictory public statements about police staffing and budget, diverting resources to send 100 officers to Washington D.C. for the upcoming inauguration and cutting off unfettered media access to police reports.
What will be interesting to watch at this meeting will be the delicate dance Berkow and Brown engage in. The men have a grudging respect for one another but Berkow may have crossed the line by involving Mary Ellen Sprague in his push for more money in the 09 budget.
Meanwhile, true to form, the newspaper seems to be rolling over for the Chief.
Sooooo, what will be the SMN’s big stick to take on the growing power of Darth Berkow?
I’m sure he is shaking in his shiny little jackboots.
In case you haven’t been following the latest Police Power Grab, Darth has decided that he will only let the media types see crime reports that they specifically ask to see. Meaning if a crime happens and no one tells the media, no one will be the wiser.
As I predicted, the Savannah Morning News has responded with a milquetoast of an editorial and has now apparently run to the state for mediation.
In case you don’t know the rules, here’s what is supposed to happen under The State of Georgia’s “Sunshine Law” :
“The public has a right to see, inspect and copy all “public records.”
Now for the past several years the Savannah/Chatham Police actually embraced the true spirit of the law when it had that great big clipboard of all police reports sitting on the desk at Habersham Street. The public could easily see, inspect and copy.
Now the clipboard is gone, there is absolutely no way for a reporter to inspect all the crime reports each day and yet our Dark Overlord of the Law claims to be following the state regs.
Let’s see….
Is he following this part of the law?
Georgia Code: 50-18-70
(b) All public records of an agency as defined in subsection (a) of this Code section, except those which by order of a court of this state or by law are prohibited or specifically exempted from being open to inspection by the general public, shall be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of this state at a reasonable time and place; and those in charge of such records shall not refuse this privilege to any citizen.
No, because in the case of police reports, all public records are not open for personal inspection at any time or place.
“But,” the Berkow backers say, “there are exemptions”
Indeed , but none that help the Chief’s case.
Georgia Code: 50-18-72 (exemptions)
(4) Records of law enforcement, prosecution, or regulatory agencies in any pending investigation or prosecution of criminal or unlawful activity, other than initial police arrest reports and initial incident reports; provided, however, that an investigation or prosecution shall no longer be deemed to be ending when all direct litigation involving said investigation and prosecution has become final or otherwise terminated;
Did you catch that? “Other than initial police arrest reports and initial incident reports” so the very reports that Berkow has locked down are exempted from the exemptions and therefore must be open to inspection.
This is not just a battle of media vs. police. It is not just Bloggers Against Berkow. This is a basic right of all people to know what is up with the agency that has all the guns.
If you fail to fight against that black velvet clad hand closing on your throat, you will soon find you have no voice at all.
Comments
All of this is pure speculation: I have a feeling that Berkow is setting this up for a buy out. I'm guessing his goal is to have his contract bought out. I get the feeling that the city and shamber of commerce are putting pressure on the department to try and keep a lid on the growing numbers of crimes due to the economic conditions and trying at the same time to keep funds free for purchases of marinas and blue recycling cans and such. The timing is not good for such a departure with the economy but the buy out amount might leave a year or so to secure a new gig.