A year ago, I wrote about an armed robbery in North Miami Beach, and criticized the North Miami Beach Police Department’s Public Information Office for not putting out a press release. As I reported back then, when I questioned both the then Chief of Police Larry Gomer and the PIO Tom Carney, I received the following responses:
Stephanie,
I know you want to put out information on the great police work we did on this case, but unfortunately, this case is still an ongoing criminal investigation, and can’t be released at this time (119 exempt at this time). Once the investigation is complete, we will release it to you. We will also be doing a press release. Thanks for supporting our efforts.
Larry Gomer
Chief of Police
North Miami Beach Police department.Tom Carney’s response basically reiterated what the Chief wrote me, adding that they “are still looking for other individuals” who might be involved. When I asked him if a press release had been issued, he told me none was issued yet because it might compromise the investigation. (My source told me one suspect was caught, but one was still on the loose.)
Either Tom Carney doesn’t dispense enough information to the public, or, you will now see, he gives out way too much information.
On July 31, 2014, Carney sent out the following email, with the subject line, “The Truth about Medical Marijuana,” to his mailing list. (NOTE: No surprise, I wasn’t on the list.)
FLORIDA POLICE CHIEFS URGE CAUTION ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATIONTALLAHASSEE, FL – The Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) today urged Floridians to rethink their support of the proposed amendment to legalize marijuana in Florida, calling the effort a potentially dangerous threat to families and communities.
“Regardless of any state laws, recreational marijuana use is still illegal on the federal level because of its high potential for abuse and the fact that there is no currently accepted national standard for use as a medical treatment,” said Chief Frank Kitzerow, President of the FPCA. “It’s important to understand that expanding the use of marijuana for medical purposes is not a safer way to use the drug.”
Studies show that marijuana use and criminal involvement – other than drug use – are highly related. Medical marijuana is often sold in storefront dispensaries; in other states, the storefront dispensaries have become magnets for crime and increased law enforcement costs. According to statistics provided by the city’s Department of Safety, Denver recorded 7,000 reported crimes within 1,000 feet of dispensaries in the first six months of both 2012 and 2013.
Statistics have shown that marijuana also plays a significant role in car accidents. Between 2006 and 2010, the Colorado Department of Highway Safety reported that at least 183 people were killed by drivers who tested positive for cannabis, after Colorado legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. There are more than 120 ER visits related to marijuana use for every 100,000 people in the United States.
The expansion of marijuana use has also been shown to have a negative impact on surrounding business communities. A study found employees who tested positive for marijuana have 55 percent more industrial accidents and 85 percent more injuries than non-users, and 78 percent have higher absentee rates than non-users. Drug-using employees have been shown to have up to 300 percent higher medical costs, which increase insurance rates for employers and employees.
For more information on the potential impacts of the proposed amendment, please visit http://www.dontletfloridagotopot.com.
The FPCA is the fourth largest state police chiefs association in the nation and is composed of more than 750 of the state’s top law enforcement executives. FPCA serves municipal police departments, airport police, college and university police, private business and security firms, as well as federal, state and county law enforcement agencies. The FPCA has members representing every region of the state.
What’s wrong with this picture?
For one thing, this article entitled Florida Police Chiefs Urge Caution on Medical Marijuana Legalization, was actually published on July 31, 2014 in fosterfollynews.com. Carney did not bother to provide a link to the original article, nor reference its source.
But, that’s the least of his problems.
The bigger issue is that Amendment 2, Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative, is on the ballot on November 4, 2014 for voter approval. That makes this a political issue. As of yet, the City of North Miami Beach has not published an official opinion on this issue. More importantly, the Police Department never issues an opinion on political matters, nor should it.
Tom Carney blew it by sending out this email, which is based on his own opinion, and was not sanctioned by either the City or the PD.
Seriously, Tom?
As such, I’m told that the City Manager was not happy about this and wanted him to rescind his email.
In response, Tom Carney sent out an email on August 2, 2014, rescinding his previous email, as follows:
From: “Carney, Tom” <Tom.Carney@nmbpd.org>
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2014 01:16:44 +0000
Subject: The Truth About Medical MarijuanaGood Evening: In an attempt to provide information on a variety of crime related topics that may affect our community, I sent an email regarding recent statistics from law enforcement on the effects of Medical Marijuana in the City of Denver. There was no intent to advocate for or against any issue, but rather, to provide general information from a well-respected police organization. I will be more careful in the future to insure that any correspondence is not viewed as political advocacy, especially prior to elections.
And then re-published the same article. AGAIN!
WTF?
So there you have it.
Any Public Information Officer worth his salt knows that distributing politically biased information is just plain wrong!
Even worse, attempting to rescind an email by REPEATING the exact email he rescinded, is like trying to stuff the genie back in the bottle.
Trust me, she ain’t going in there. Not willingly, anyway.
Obviously, Tom Carney is not qualified for the job he’s supposed to be doing.
In my humble opinion, of course.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
Stephanie, you directed me to a blogger in my city of Hialeah. I am unable to find her, can you help give me a site.
Thanks, one of your followers from another city.
Her name is Elaine de Valle, and here is her website: http://www.politicalcortadito.com/
Steph your not alone. We don’t know why he works here either or what he does to have a salary over 100k. He’s not a police officer, but yet he wears a uniform. Weird!!
Hi Stephanie, I actually found you upon doing a web search to find out who Carney’s immediate superior is. I received his wildly inappropriate email and plan to report him. I will go directly to the City Manager who, I learned here, directed Carney to rescind. Thanks for “spreading the wealth”. KR
Even I get it. Just like the Feds tried prohibiting alcohol in the 1920’s, they have also failed at prohibiting marijuana use. The more resources (our tax money) they throw at it, the more marijuana expands into areas it was never at before. Use of marijuana is at an all time record high. Instead of us paying billions (probably more like trillions) of dollars trying to prevent its use, we should use the money spent on enforcement and interdiction to prevent real crime like breaking and entering, cell phone store break-ins, jewelry store robberies and car thefts.
So many cars are stolen every year, the cops have given up on finger-printing the cars that would help to catch the thieves. Instead, they would rather stop a car full of young girls and bust them for having a joint in the car. Its more fun than fingerprinting those stolen cars in the hot sun.
The last thing that most police departments want is to decriminalize marijuana as they get massive amounts of money in Federal grants to work overtime, take trips to other states (like in Bal Harbour) and make lots of money doing it.
You’ll never get a Police Dept. to advocate decriminalization of marijuana.
i’ll play devil’s advocate and assume Carney is just a bit deficient in regards to certain intellectual feats including but perhaps not limited to unbiased performance of a public service; proper citation and context of other peoples intellectual media; and transparent efforts to embody the spirit of Florida’s public records laws.
I’ve been much too lazy to follow-up or try something else but I recall trying to get information from him about the magic GOO NMB bought with forfeiture funds. He dodged and told me to contact the clerk.
This makes me think of something a bit unrelated but I think it would be great for public records reasons if documents were created, and edited in digital form only. Having go to a place to get a physical copy of a document is not only annoying and laborious and time consuming but it also significantly limits the things you can do with the documents.
I wouldn’t ever say someone is “not qualified for the job” because they made a mistake. Obviously, the whole issue would have been better left alone, but his concerns merit attention. The outcomes of the legalization of marijuana in Colorado are not always so pretty. I’m thinking particularly of the beautiful village of Manitou Springs. While it always had its share of the “unwashed”, it’s now almost impossible to walk the streets unassailed by the stench of pot. The peddlers are everywhere, trailed by relentless beggars because, although legal, weed is certainly not free. History will judge how wise it is to legalize marijuana, but before jumping into the fray, residents of NMB should note the doctrine of unintended consequences. Massage, anyone?
He is “not qualified for the job” for reasons other than this. I didn’t make that statement rashly. However, if you read Marc Caputo’s article today, you’ll see that this screw up was major. Using a public email address for a political purpose is illegal.
My criticism about the email had absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter. I have no opinion on the matter, and the only comment I have about marijuana is that smoking pot makes you stupid. As far as I’m concerned, there are enough stupid people on the planet It would be best for people who are already intellectually challenged in the first place to refrain from partaking in order to preserve the precious few brain cells that might be active.
This blog was not about the upcoming vote on medical marijuana.
It was about Tom Carney using a public email to express a private opinion. Worse, the way it was done made it appear that the PD was issuing an official opinion. THAT is the topic at hand.
I’ve had several communications with Tom Carney over the years of my living in NMB. Each time, he has been brash, condescending, judgmental, inappropriate, and insulting. He was like an exclamation point on the downhill path that NMB had been on. Very disturbing that he is a paid employee in this city. He is, in my opinion a very bad apple on the NMB staff. On a brighter note, I so far like the new City Manager and I like (so far) the new code compliance manager she brought with her from Bisc Park. Hopefully things will improve with these new folks…but Tom Carney show GO!!!