Report on Kolender Probe Disregards Ethics

City Manager John Lockwood’s report on his investigation into allegations of misconduct by Police Chief Bill Kolender and his top assistant is disappointing. Though Lockwood did find that some of the practices engaged in by Kolender and Assistant Chief Bob Burgreen were wrong, he carefully avoided using any language that would suggest that the two police officials did anything unethical.

The neutral tone of Lockwood’s report allowed Kolender to shrug off the city manager’s reprimand by acknowledging “mistakes” and “poor administrative practices” and promising “to shore up certain policies and procedures” and to personally conform to them.

Though we do not believe Kolender has committed offenses that justify his being fired, neither do we think a discussion of department policies goes to the heart of the problems that have recently been exposed.

More to the point would have been some recognition by Lockwood that ticket-fixing by high police officials is wrong because it demonstrates that selected groups of people have an influence that allows them to disregard certain laws. Rather than praising the two men’s candor, Lockwood might have dealt with the moral and legal implications of lying on official forms about why parking tickets or moving violations were being dismissed.

Lockwood merely states that subordinates in the chief’s office have “guessed” at what the legitimate excuse for dismissal might be while routinely canceling tickets. The city manager also glossed over the fact that an internal Police Department audit two years ago raised the issue of ticket dismissals, and Kolender and Burgreen ignored it.

Lockwood’s report is thorough in that he has ruled on each allegation against Kolender and Burgreen. But he shows no concern that there is a troubling pattern found in the aggregate.

Over more than a decade as chief, Kolender seems to have lost sight of the fact that the Police Department is a public agency, not his personal fiefdom. Letting friends and family members off the hook on tickets, using sworn officers as errand runners and accepting gifts in violation of policy are all indications that he has forgotten where his official responsibilities end and his personal life begins.

Lockwood and Kolender have assured the public that the bad practices that have been uncovered will cease. But until the city manager and the police chief understand that the reason for ending them is not just to tidy up sloppy management but to correct fundamentally unethical behavior, we will worry about similar problems arising in the future.

Attempting to put a cap on the controversy, Lockwood characterized Kolender’s actions by using a sports metaphor implying a single instance of bad judgment made while under extreme pressure. He would have been closer to the mark if he had used the example of personal foul.