When is a “fail” not a “fail?”
When Chief Lenny and his crack Spin Squad concoct a new definition for the word “fail.”
Hey, if Bill Clinton can redefine the word “is,” fair game, right?
Last month on the North Miami Police Department’s Facebook page, Team Lenny announced “Accreditation team invites public comments regarding the agency’s ability to comply with the standard.”
They even posted a Press Release letting the public know that “A team of assessors from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA)” was coming to town on April 19, 2016 and will spend three days examining “all aspects of the North Miami Police Department’s policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services.”
The assessment process was completed on Thursday, April 21, 2016, and guess what?
They FAILED!
Epically.
Of course, that’s not the “official” story, because the truth would just further confirm the complete incompetence of the head of the proverbial rotting fish, the Police Chief himself, Leonard Burgess.
This assessment takes place every three years in order for a police department to retain its certification status.
This is the first time in … ever … that the NMPD has failed the assessment.
This is the first time it’s happened under any Police Chief in the history of the North Miami Police Department.
What does that tell you?
On Friday, I made a public records request asking for “copies of the complete results of this assessment, including the areas which were assessed and the final grade that each assessed area received. Please also provide proof of the agency’s accreditation status.”
I also sent an email to the city manager, with copies to mayor and council, requesting this information.
I have not received an official response to my request yet, but several sources in the police department told me that the spin is already in.
According to the word on the street, Team Lenny sez:
“We didn’t fail. But, since we didn’t pass, we are withdrawing our application and going back to the drawing board.”
That was three days the North Miami Police Department will never get back.
GET THIS GUY OUTTA HERE!
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
So let’s say you were a fly on the wall and you could have seen and heard it all. What might you observe? Something like this: The assessors came, looked around, said you ain’t passing because you don’t even meet the minimum requirements, this is ridiculous, what has happened here in the past few years? You FAIL. Then Lenny would run around like he’s losing his mind crying Please, please what can we do so no one knows we FAILED. I take it back I don’t want you to assess us this year I want a Do-Over! Pleeeease!
So the powers that be in accreditation come to agreement where they don’t submit their FAIL report and Lenny “withdraws” the submission so that he can protect his reputation. Why he would bother is anybody’s guess because his reputation was ruined years ago!
This was “The Assessment” to pass or fail. This was not a mock or pre-assessment. The truth is, they failed. Chiefy can spin it however he wants. If they would have passed this assessment, there would be another press release in celebration . The chief would take every opportunity, especially around the City Mangaer, to pat himself on the back. The dept withdrew their application? That’s like Lenny saying he was never involved in any sexual harassment complaint. Maybe when the City Manager takes action, Lenny can say he resigned in leu of termination. I was an assessor for CALEA for CALEA for over 12 years. Give me a break.
When is the City Manager going to FIRE this Chief of Police???? ENOUGH ALREADY! The residents and taxpayers deserve somebody better. The members of the police department also deserve somebody better. There is absolutely no excuse for anything being below standards with the police department.
My guess is the city manager is sitting back for a while and watching this shit show until he can figure out all the players. Have a little patience and let the man take it all in. Sooner or later he’s going to see what Burgess, Juriga, Annemarie, Brea and all of their cronies are about. These things don’t happen overnight. The manager is going to be bombarded with the sucking up, backstabbing and general bullshit that people in these positions feed a new manager. They’ll be jockeying for position, Juriga will be stabbing Burgess in the back in the hopes that the Manager thinks he’s a better alternative and they’ll all start eating each other alive. Spring isn’t stupid but he needs some time to take it all in and sift through the muck. Burgess and Juriga are politicians, they’re going to do what politicians do. Politic and grease wheels for their own benefit.
I’m still surprised that Chief Lenny has been able to bamboozle two city managers so far. With all the incontrovertible proof of his complete incompetence that has been uncovered so far, it’s hard to believe he still has his job. I have no doubt that Juriga is just waiting for an opportunity to throw Lenny under the bus without making it too obvious. Still, this bumbling cast of characters can’t possibly keep up the pretense much longer. It’s beyond obvious that the PD has become the laughing stock of the county under Lenny’s watch. Even my peeps at the NMBPD are watching this horror show in amazement. And they’ve had nothing to brag about in years.
If at first you do not succeed, fail, fail again.
Too funny! That should be the NMPD’s new logo emblazoned across its police cars. There’s plenty of room since the certification stickers will have to be peeled off.
Let’s hope they don’t get too many traffic tickets for “peeling out” recklessly.
I have met the Chief, and he is always the first one to respond to when I e-mail him along with the cities council and city manager. Yes, this is a fail especially since it’s the first time that NMPD has fail the assesment, but I am curious to know about the other fails. There must be a reason you all wanted this chief fired.
There are plenty of reasons, all of which I have recounted over and over in the last almost two years. You’re probably not a regular reader of this blog or you would be familiar with the many foibles, missteps and outright ass-hattery of this chief of police. I’m working on a column, which will help you catch up to speed. In the meantime, simply click “Police Chief Leonard Burgess” over there to the right under “Categories” so you can familiarize yourself with all the gory details.
Thanks for reading my blog!