Chief Fortenberry. . . . Stand!

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The administration of Chief Fortenberry has been marred with conflicts and controversy. The Lumberton Board of Aldermen has micromanaged his department to a fault. Recently, they avoided the guidelines that were set forth in the official minutes for the City of Lumberton and started interferring, again, in the day to day activities of the Lumberton Police Department. At the last board meeting, Chief Fortenberry requested training for his police officers and the request was not granted. So, on June 30, 2011, the Lumberton Police Department will lose it's certification and Lumberton will be without police protection. Will this board let it go this far? I doubt it. It's part of a bigger picture. In my opinion, the board is going to pass everything they rejected when it was presented to the board by Chief Fortenberry. In an effort to make Hobson look like an effectual replacement, the board intends to grant a hail Mary support for the officer's training, they will approve overtime, stop scrutinizing the fuel man accounts, and do everything they can possibly do to make Hobson look good so they can justify putting him in charge. But it's time for Chief Fortenberry to take a stand. He is taking a leave for training and the blueprint for what happens while he's not on duty is clearly outlined. It's time for the chief to take the bull by the horn and let the board know that he is in charge of the Lumberton Police Department, not Gibson, Hale and Crider. The law is on the side of Chief Fortenberry. If the board wants to interfere with his duties as Chief of the Lumberton Police Department, he needs to take the matter to News 7 and inform the citizens how the Board of Aldermen are endangering the citizens of Lumberton by refusing to allow his officers to get training and how they are interfering in day to day activities of his department. As a police officer, I know that Chief Fortenberry is aware of the importance of Kevlar, but for this battle he's gonna need to adorn himself in the full armor. This battle is not going to be easy and it's easy to see that Chief Fortenberry is not wrestling with just flesh and blood (Gibson, Crider, Hale and Johnson), but he's in a battle against principalities (rulers) and powers(authorities) that sit in high places (board rooms) but Chief Fortenberry has on the belt of truth and therefore he must STAND!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 20, 2011 at 12:45 PM

    I keep hearing about all these people taking their personal leave to attend workshops and training. The Fair Labor and Standards Act states "public sector employers may not allow their employees to volunteer, without compensation, additional time to do the same work for which they are employed." If these training and workshop opportunities are required to keep certifications, then that falls under "work for which they are employed" doesn't it? If I were the employer, I would at least err on the side of caution here and compensate them as regular work time rather than vacation pay. Allowing someone to use their vacation time to go and do something work-related is wrong.

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