ULISH CARTER
After 35 years of serving Pittsburgh as a police officer, the media is crucifying the city’s top cop, Chief Nate Harper. Many of the accusations go back as far as 2007. Why?
He hasn’t been charged with or even accused of anything illegal, or breaking any of the city’s rules or regulations. So why are the media and mayoral candidates demanding he either be fired, step down or take a leave of absence?
The issues facing the chief: The first accusation was that he was friends with businessman Arthur Bedway, owner of Alpha Outfitters, a firm that is being investigated by a federal grand jury. First reports said the chief was a close friend, then later an associate. Bedway received a $327,000 contract in 2007 to install and maintain radios and computers in city police vehicles. According to sources, Bedway is the type of man who befriends anyone he thinks can help him, and that he is friends and associated with many people throughout the city and county government. But by calling him a friend of the chief, it implies that the chief helped him get the contract.
The second accusation is that Harper had become a part of a security business with fellow officers. This was true, but the business hasn’t started up yet, and was due to start after his retirement. The name of the business created by Officer Tonya Montgomery-Ford, Commander Eric Holmes and Sgt. Barry Budd was Diverse Public Safety Consultants LLC.
But even if it was open and running, what’s wrong with that? Is there some kind of unwritten law that says a police chief can’t have an outside business? District Attorney Stephen Zappala said it’s not illegal.
The third implication by the media is that he is responsible for the “detail mafia” which he had nothing to do with implementing. This system is not just in Pittsburgh but also in cities throughout the country. Apparently police officers have no problem working a lot of hours and their pay must be extremely low, or they spend a lot. All of us have seen off-duty police working as security guards at Giant Eagle, sports games and other major and small businesses. Well apparently a system was set up by cities throughout the country to get additional revenue by hiring off-duty policemen to special details such as Steelers games, bars, grocery stores, etc, in addition to the regular on duty cops. This system has brought thousands of dollars into the city–$800,000 last year. The chief did not create this–it was apparently by the city and the FOP working together. The name of the firm is Cover Your Assets, which allows off-duty officers to work up to 32 hours weekly.
But apparently there are many police officers that feel they have been left out of this system by the people in charge, which includes many Black officers who say, despite seniority, they haven’t gotten any or very few of these details. The chief has nothing to do with who gets assigned by the “detail mafia,” the media and police officers are calling them. But because of the complaints, the entire system is being investigated. Pittsburgh is not the first. There have been suits and probes in other cities about how some officers are misusing the same system which was created to make sure everyone got a fair share of the off-duty details.
The fourth accusation is the promotion of Eric Holmes to commander because he was a friend and not because of his qualifications. The news reports make it sound like the chief was promoting his friends, but according to people inside the police department the chief barely knew Sgt. Holmes when he allowed him to take on the full-time position at Slippery Rock. It was the University that requested Holmes. According to my sources, the chief really didn’t know Holmes well, other than his work, until the G20 event was held in Pittsburgh and Holmes was not only in charge of this because of his credentials, but he did such a great job that it has become a model for cities throughout the world. As a New Pittsburgh Courier 50 Men of Excellence selection I had a chance to look at his credentials, they are impeccable. Compared to the other commanders and high-ranking officers in the city, he’s far overqualified.
There’s a reason Slippery Rock University asked for him and had no problem hiring him as a consultant and later interim head of their police department so that he could train their police force.
There’s criticism of the chief for allowing this while he was still working as a sergeant on the city’s police force. They said two 40-hour jobs were too much. Let’s be for real, if other police officers can work up to 32 hours of off-duty work, why couldn’t he? He was paid a salary, not hourly, which means as long as he did what they hired him to do, he could have worked as little as 20 hours or as many as 50. No one really knows. But apparently he was doing both jobs well.
The fifth accusation is the FBI confiscation of Credit Union documents because of the allegations of misappropriation of funds has the media stating that the chief set up a slush fund.
Somehow City Controller Michael Lamb has gotten involved in all this and says that he hopes to document money coming in from private businesses that hire officers to moonlight. I don’t think someone running for office should be allowed to probe anything until the race is over.
Most of this was started years ago. Why is it all hitting the fan now, right in the middle of a mayoral campaign? Where was Lamb?
And why is the media demanding Chief Harper step down, even though he hasn’t been charged with anything?
Well, I haven’t been one of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl supporters but he has gained my respect in telling the media, and his opponents that he’s going to stick by the man he appointed back in 2006 by stating:
“Until I am told otherwise or until we are made aware of the fact that something was done illegal, I don’t plan to make any changes. I don’t believe that at this point we’d be justified in doing that and the chief has given me no reason to believe that he’s not capable of continuing to do his job. The game changes if an indictment were to come down,” said Ravenstahl.
Right on, Mr. Mayor.
(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the New Pittsburgh Courier.)