Police Dept. Chooses Officer for Community Relations Post

A San Diego police officer who has been active in developing a variety of projects to promote the Police Department’s image was promoted Tuesday to community relations assistant to the chief.

Chief Bill Kolender said he selected Matthew Weathersby for the new administrative post because the officer has shown creativity in helping the public see the positive side of police work.

He pointed to Weathersby’s work in putting together special baseball cards that depicted police officers and safety tips, in promoting a police radio talk-show and in developing the department’s school essay program.

“He’s got a lot of talent,” Kolender said. “He’s proven himself.”

‘Jumps Chain of Command’

In September, The Times reported that Kolender was so impressed with Weathersby’s ideas that he wanted to hand him the new job despite opposition by other top police officials. Several officers and police administrators said then that Weathersby irritates fellow officers by jumping the chain of command to get something done.

The appointment to the post was placed on hold until a lengthy city personnel selection process was conducted and two names were submitted to Kolender for the post--Weathersby, and Officer Rick Carlson of public affairs.

The chief declined to say Tuesday whether Weathersby was his favorite choice all along.

“There were only two names that got to me,” he said. “And Matt was one of the finalists.”

Carlson, a 19-year veteran of the department, has worked in public affairs for almost 12 years.

“Of course I’m very disappointed,” he said. “I worked hard for the position, but that’s his (Kolender’s) prerogative to make his decision.”

Asked whether he would appeal Kolender’s decision, Carlson said, “I’m going to see what happens in the next couple of days. I have to go somewhere else.”

Weathersby, 32, is an 11-year police veteran and has worked seven years in public affairs, with five of those years as a community relations officer at the department’s Northeastern storefront.

Positive Image Is Goal

He said he saw the job as working with the media to project a more positive image of the department, particularly in light of recent negative publicity.

“We are big enough to believe there are always going to be problems,” he said. “But we have started to get down on ourselves.”

He said the Sagon Penn case, coupled with a rise in police shootings, has damaged the individual officer’s personal perceptions of their department.

“But we do a hell of a lot more right than what we do wrong,” he said. “There’s a lot of good stuff, and people don’t always see that. It’s my job to make sure the public sees it, to let the public know what they’re paying for.”