Chief Shane Flynt: A Political Scandal???

One week ago, the City of Lumberton became the subject of the viral news because of a video that surfaced, featuring Chief Shane Flynt. WDAM sent their overzealous reporter to Lumberton after they received the video from a person they would only describe as a WDAM viewer. Surprisingly, when they arrived in Lumberton early Tuesday morning, Mayor Rogers was conveniently at City Hall. When I was out of town at the time, but I received calls saying WDAM was at City Hall and they were talking to the Mayor. Before they could go into any details, I quickly glanced at the time and said "the Mayor is at city hall this early?" At that point, I knew the reason WDAM was in Lumberton was not going to be good because it's very rare for Mayor Rogers to darken the doors of City Hall before noon. Before I could make it back to Lumberton, I received a call from an telephone number I didn't recognize and it was Mike McDaniel from WDAM. He wanted to know if I wanted to give an interview regarding a video they received from a "WDAM viewer". Since I'm not camera shy, I decided to give them an interview. When I arrived at City Hall, I walked into the board room, the cameraman turned on the camera before I could take a seat, McDaniel was setting up the microphone and before I could catch my breath, I was asked if I had seen the video of Chief Flynt. Contrary to the lie that was told on the local news by Mayor Rogers and repeated by Mike McDaniel on HLN, none of the board members saw the video. In another story, Rogers admitted, off camera, that he "misspoke" when he accused the board members of seeing and withholding the video from him.

Since the release of the video, Lumberton has been divided. There are people that think Flynt should be given another chance and there are those that think his actions are unforgiveable. Over the past seven days, people have shared the video and their opinions. I was waiting on the results of a voluntary drug test before I rendered a decision but the case against Flynt has been tried in the court of public opinion but the jury is still out regarding the sentence. Some, including the Mayor, want to destroy his career, his ability to care for his family and livelihood. Some want him to remain on as chief and there are some, like myself, that want to remove him from the position of Chief, have him enter some type of drug rehabilitation program, have random drug testing allow him to continue to work with the Lumberton Police Department so he can earn the trust and respect of the citizens. As I stated on the news, I'm all for a giving a person a second chance and I don't want to damage the career of a person that has collected more fines in five (5) months as a Chief than the previous chief collected in five (5) years. Maybe that's another reason why people want him banished from the Lumberton Police Department. While looking for possible solutions to present to Chief Flynt, the board and the public, Rogers was going to and fro, seeing what he can do to destroy this person's career because his vendetta against Chief Flynt is personal not professional and definitely not because he's concerned about the citizens of Lumberton. If you don't think it's personal, look at the minutes. For twelve (12) years, Quincy voted no on every motion to handle city business/pay claim dockets but when Elsie became Chief, he voted yes on everything pertaining to the police department but almost every vote for the police department after Flynt took over the department was met with a veto letter from Mayor Rogers that was based on a personal issue not a professional one. On several occasions, Rogers allegedly told Flynt that he would never be chief, he actually refused to administer the oath of office and one statement he made about the board and Flynt was so racist that I refuse to repeat it on the blog. However, I will repeat something I heard about myself. Apparently, the Mayor has been going around the community, allegedly speaking of course, saying that I was stupid for voting to rehire Merlene Wall because she allegedly said, during an unemployment hearing, that she resigned because she was afraid of me. This information was relayed to me by a resident of Azalea Gardens who allegedly heard the information from someone that work at their complex. Now what kind of Mayor is that? I didn't know Merlene applied for unemployment and I knew nothing about a hearing but I guess we can ask them both to see if the statement is true. During this process, there were things said that were not true but that happens when people want to believe the worst. I heard some say that we're giving Flynt a second chance but we didn't give Elsie Cowart the same opportunity. I wonder where that lie came from? Cowart was giving the opportunity to remain employed with the Lumberton Police Department but not as Chief of Police.

During this ordeal, I saw a few ask what would happen if Flynt was black? I'm not sure how much more damage could have been done regardless of the color of the person in the video. Maybe they were questioning the people that were supporting Chief Flynt; perhaps they were wondering if people would be so supportive, willing to forgive if Chief Flynt was black. I guess we will never know the answer to that question. I rarely engaged others during the share fest but I read a lot of the vitriolic comments that were made. For me it was simple, you either wanted him terminated or given a second chance but during this process, out city was being victimized again and divided on a issue that many people are passionate about. As stated in my interview with WDAM, I was very skeptical about the release of the video and its timing which is something I discussed with Chief Flynt when I drove him home the next day after he had back surgery. Am I too close to the case? Perhaps but I have a special connection with Chief Flynt. When I was assaulted by Danny Davis, who was actually on the clock and driving a vehicle paid for by the citizens of Lumberton, Flynt was the ONLY officer that wasn't afraid to arrest Davis and take him to jail. So when I questioned the video, I wondered why the citizens of Lumberton were not outraged by the crime committed by a City of Lumberton employee that was actually on the job but we hold law enforcement officials to a higher standard, even if they're at home. (I was attempting sarcasm but I don't think it was a successful attempt.)

In an interview last night, Mayor Rogers attempted to throw the board under the bus again by retracting his statement that we saw the video but continued his efforts to show the board in a bad light by saying the board members saw photos. How would he know what we saw? Quincy has essentially stopped communicating with the board as indicated in the text below:

So when Quincy is going around bad mouthing the board because he's upset that we're united and will work together, he's plotting to avoid special call meetings and refusing to communicate with the board members. So will the real Quincy stand up because your mask is slipping? In the interview, Rogers said he wanted Flynt terminated because "we as councilmen, mayors, police whatever the case my be, department heads, we are held to a higher standard." In my opinion, telling the truth should be a part of that higher standard. Quincy said he wanted to Chief held responsible for his actions, I wonder if he's also going to hold the Court Programs employees accountable. They were in the room, partaking in an illegal act and they handle all cases, not just drug cases. The citizens think they know what's going on but there's more to this story and the video that was used to gain leverage in a domestic matter is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure tonight's board meeting is going to be SRO (standing room only) but bring your popcorn because we're laying all the cards on the table. Mayor Rogers is going to learn to stop trying to tear apart a board with a lie when his whole agenda can be shredded to pieces with the truth. Be careful of the gallows you prepare for others because they may be for you.