Savannah is searching for a police chief during challenging times. Break out the 10-foot poles
This commentary is written by opinion columnist Adam Van Brimmer.
The most pressing question around Savannah City Hall this week goes like this: Where did City Manager Jay Melder store his 10-foot pole again?
Police Chief Roy Minter announced his long-overdue resignation last week. His departure, scheduled for later this month, promises fresh leadership for a much-maligned department plagued by officer vacancies and a seemingly trigger-happy police force.
Provided someone wants the job, that is.
SPD chief has a “don’t touch it” feel to it similar to the multi-year city manager search. The police chief’s post might be even less attractive than the top administrator’s job — most, if not all, of the issues Savannah faced in courting city managers involved interpersonal relationships with the mayor and city council members.
Melder eventually picked up that 10-foot pole and took the city manager’s position. The police chief situation might require a rod of a greater length.
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Internally, the thin blue line is singing the blues.
A recent survey showed widespread morale troubles, with officers citing a culture of distrust. Shoring up confidence within the department must be a priority because only then can the police repair bonds with community members, especially those living in crime-riddled areas reluctant to come forward with information about shootings and other incidents.
Putting the house in order won’t be the only immediate challenge faced by the new chief. The city is trending as a county fair shooting alley, with residents, especially teenagers and young men, settling what Mayor Van Johnson calls “beefs” with guns instead of words or fists.
Those gunfights won’t stop the day Minter leaves, and any would-be successor will know his or her honeymoon with the public could be short.
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Then there’s the city council factor.
The police chief reports to the city manager, not the mayor and aldermen and alderwomen. Yet different council members interpret that organizational structure in different ways. They are right to pepper the chief with questions during workshops and even to criticize him (or her), as multiple council members have done.
But holding the chief accountable is Melder’s purview. Department policies and operations are under the city manager’s oversight.
To this point, council members have largely respected those boundaries. However, the recent revelation that Alderwomen Alicia Blakely, Kesha Gibson-Carter and Bernetta Lanier have previously called for an executive session of council to discuss police personnel hints that they are willing to go farther.
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Those myriad of challenges are shaping the police chief search.
Mayor Johnson has defended Minter despite the department’s death spiral under his leadership. The mayor is headed to the White House next week for an event related to the recently signed bipartisan gun safety law, and he intends to champion Minter for the U.S. Marshals post he is seeking with members of President Joe Biden’s administration and congressional lawmakers.
“It’s easy to blame people for stuff, and for those who choose to blame and have never put on a uniform use caution,” Johnson said. “It is the hardest job in any government to be a police chief.”
Perhaps Johnson genuinely approves of Minter’s job performance. What’s just as likely is the mayor wants candidates to know that he, as the city’s most visible leader, supports the city’s top cop.
This council brings plenty of expertise to the chief hunt. Johnson and three council members — Aldermen Nick Palumbo and Kurtis Purtee and Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan — have worked in law enforcement. Purtee still does.
That know-how will benefit Melder. He’s not yet a year into his tenure as city manager, and Savannah is the first city where he’s served as the chief executive. He’ll also do well to listen to other council voices — Alderman Detric Leggett has deep connections to the Savannah Police through his work as a longtime community activist, and Alderwomen Lanier, Blakely and Gibson-Carter are passionate in their calls for “better” policing.
Gibson-Carter’s plainspokenness about police shortcomings is at times refreshing.
The best contribution the mayor and council members can make is to remember that Melder needs to be the frontman in making this hire. He’s familiar with that 10-foot pole and can explain what makes an ugly job in a pretty place so attractive.
Contact Van Brimmer at avanbrimmer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @SavannahOpinion.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter resignation leaves unattractive job
