Tuesday, March 10, 2009

CMPD Command Visits Roll Call

Spring has sprung as across the Carolina's, Bradford Pear and Cherry trees are suddenly in bloom and "love" is apparently in the air.



Seems CMPD Command is in a courting mood, making an effort to appear warm and fuzzy by showing up at roll calls and spreading the "love" by thanking patrol for "All the hard work and effort and a fine job of decreasing Charlotte's crime rate."

It is rare that Majors and/or Deputy Chiefs ever show up at roll call, but they "just wanted to come out and say thanks", and ask "oh by the way has anyone coerced you into changing the crime classification on your reports?"

"If so please let us know, we want to make sure you classify your reports properly."

Which was followed by the obligatory "OK, does anyone have any questions they would like to ask?" As you might expect there were no questions about "cooking the books", just complete silence.

The Cedar Posts Poll regarding the CMPD crime numbers has closed and not surprisingly 81.8% are convinced the numbers are "fixed" 6.5% are positive the numbers are true and and 11.9% opting for the timid "who knows?" The perception is the reality and in this case it is going to take a lot more that a few majors showing up at roll call to change the perception.

Speaking of CMPD Majors, looks like Vicki Foster earned enough money from the reported house hunting she did for Chief Monroe to pay her property taxes. We also understand she was none too happy about being called out on her past due tax bill.

Rumor has it she was his personal real estate agent and was able to get her name off the Mecklenburg Deadbeat taxpayers list. Congrats Major Foster!

The CIAA Parking Story got a lot of attention last week:

One poster suggested "And there was an internal memo alerting patrol officers to be "on the lookout" for this free parking pass."

Anyone with a legit copy of the memo can email it to CedarPosts@gmail.com

Then there was this troubling post:

Okay, it just gets stranger and stranger....The newest "rumor" is that the "chief" has put false info out there to try and "catch" someone putting it on a blog or in the newspaper blogs.

Hummmm well disinformation is routine in Washington, DC but that dog won't hunt down here.

One comment early last week noted that the Chief's Daughter was hired by Mecklenburg County DSS:

Public records show DSS hired Hollye Monroe, the Chief's daughter back in January, as a Management Analyst (file clerk) paying her Monroe, who earns $46,613, has a master's degree in criminal justice and had previously worked for the Virginia Department of Social Services. She must have impressed someone in Charlotte, as the County has been under a hiring freeze since last July.

More about Hollye's new job at WCNC News Channel 36 or watch WSOC TV's Eyewitness News at 6 tonight. More Details about Charlotte's sudden spat of cronyism at the Charlotte Observer.

This comment showed up about mid week:

"And I heard today that he has purchased a home in Charlotte. Seems it is a few doors down from Vicki Fosters home, and guess what? She was his Real Estate Agent!

Well, we can't really say if that is true or not, but it's all public record even the amount of commission Ms. Foster may have been paid, if any. But I would think she should return any compensation to the city if she was "house hunting" while on the taxpayers time.

We got a post about Chief Monroe's "Secretary":

"Someone should also check out how the chief let his new secretary (who is from Richmond, go figure) do a police ride along and house shop in Charlotte. She now has her own "reserved" parking place in the parking deck at CMPD LE Center but still has Virginia tags on her car."

Hummm from what Cedar Posts has learned the Chief ordered a complete "overhaul" of the parking deck creating a "row of honor" for Command Staff on the first floor. Cost to taxpayers a reported $10,000.00!

Someone else took issue with the Chief's wife attending Leadership Charlotte.

PHOTO REMOVED AT THE
REQUEST OF
LEADERSHIP CHARLOTTE

Leadership Charlotte Participants including
CMPD Major Sherie Pearsall and at the far right Marvette Monroe

"...his wife is going to Leadership Charlotte without going through the proper channels. Is there a fee for going to Leadership Charlotte? If so, did the city pay for his wife to go?"

Cedar Posts thinks Leadership Charlotte is a very acceptable resource for a Police Chief's wife to be involved with, but would hope she paid the small fee herself.

Considering most the news about Chief Monroe this a very positive development.

Ms. Monroe has a long history of community involvement and in the past has built a solid reputation as a hard working, concerned citizen, with a selfless commitment to her community.

So Cedar Post says:

Bravo Marvette!

Another comment points out that Major Sherie Pearsall also attending Leadership Charlotte was promoted by Chief Monroe without following the directives that he had outlined only a few weeks prior.

CMPD Directive concerning promotions: 300-011

Which really opens a bag of cats!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

So really, you think it is okay that Marvette is going to Leadership Charlotte when she did not go through the proper interview process as hopefully the rest of the participants did? What? That she was able to participate in this particular LS just because of who her husband is? Really?
We heard about the Command Staff "visits" also. Now just how transparent is that? And do you think that is how they really feel or is that just for PR? I've heard no one is really buying it and they are still feeling the pressure to "do what they want".
We'll see when the next crime stats appear, won't we?

How long can Rodney continue to abuse his power and use his every resource for his and his friends and family to benefit from?

It is just astounding that he has gotten away with what he has.

Google the Times Dispatch from Richmond, view all the recent articles that mention Rodney...it will amaze you at the dirty "legacy" he has left behind there.

What else can be said that has not already been said about him?

I'm just disgusted, frankly.

Seems everyone is just scared of him.

(One article quoted him as saying he "hasn't decided" what he is going to do about his degree", oh, excuse me, his NON DEGREE.)

Anonymous said...

Well, I for one think that he should be required by City Council to finish the necessary credit hours to have a legitimate degree, or let's call his degree what it is, worthless, rather like one of those Honorary degrees awarded people. Only there is nothing honorable about his "degree".

What exactly is the job description of the "job" his daughter was hired to do? What were the requirements for this job?
Or is this another one of those "jobs" ..much like RAYS', that was created just for his daughter?

These are reasonable questions that concerned citizens like myself would like an answer to. People should be demanding an answer to this question and more.

Just wake the heck up people..this is not so much a "job" or "career" for Rodney, it is a "goody bag" on his way up the law enforcement "ladder". And the citizens of Charlotte are being asked to fund it. And I daresay at no REAL benefit to them.

Anonymous said...

Cedar,
Do you really think anyone at CMPD will turn over the memo after what happened to the robbery detective that tried to tell the truth?

There is/was a memo about the parking.

People are scared to death, scared for their jobs, scared for their retirements, scared of being branded as a whistleblower, scared of being polygraphed. And ALL FOR TRYING TO DO THE HONORABLE THING AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING AT CMPD UNDER RODNEY MONROE.

Anonymous said...

If you look closely at the photograph of Leadership Charlotte, you will see Major Sherie Pearsall.

She is the Captain that was promoted to Major by Rodney after only being a Captain for one year.

The Directives say that a Captain must serve a minimum of TWO years before rising to the rank of Major.
This is a Directive signed by the Chief of Police. And as far as I have heard, it is still the Directive.

But once again, Rodney feels like the rules, Directives, SOP's do not apply to him. I have a feeling this Directive was in place for a good reason.

He also announced this "promotion" at a Community Meeting instead of following procedure and announcing all promotions for a given time period at the same time. But I have heard he felt it was to his "benefit" to announce this promotion and one other at this particular Community Meeting. Good PR, don't you know?

This is just one seemingly small thing that he has chosen to spit in the face of SOP's and Directives..just one thing of many, many, as we are seeing.

He opened the door to doing whatever the heck he wants with being disingenuous about his College Degree and misrepresenting what his so called "degree" was in.
He has gotten away with that and that just opened the door for doing whatever the heck he wants and getting away with it.

And brazenly getting away with it.

Why is that?

Rea Road Neighborhood Coalition said...

I would hope that Ms. Monroe wasn't shown any favor at Leadership Charlotte.

If she was it really diminishes what the other 45 people who are standing in that photo have accomplished.

Anyone can email CedarPosts@gmail.com and trust that they are protected.

Anonymous said...

Well, if Marvette was able to "jump in line" in front of others who had gone through the entire interview/acceptance/recommendation process,as I have heard, would you say that was because of her husbands influence?

And if that indeed is the case, is that "right"??

Seems Rodney is able to muscle his way into whatever he wants, Good Grief, when is Charlotte going to wake up?

Anonymous said...

Cedar,
It is well known inside the department, from what I have heard, that that "Directive" was changed just prior to "Major" Pearsalls' promotion and announcement enabling her to be eligible for promotion.

A directive changed to accommodate one person, YEP.

It would be interesting to see the EXACT date that directive was changed. A regular citizen as myself does not have access to that information. The dates on the public CMPD website just reflect the LATEST change to any one directive.

Also, look at education requirements for Captain and above,
a Bachelors degree. That would legitimately make Rodney ineligible to be "Chief". And also Ray's job has no educational requirement, the job that was created just for him.

Anonymous said...

Why would Hollye Monroe take a job at 46k a year with a master's degree in criminal justice?

What this is part time work for a stay at home mom?

Why can't Rodney keep it on the DL for a week or so?

Anonymous said...

Cedar,
This is interesting, someone posted on Charlotte Observer blog:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/education/article/VCUU14_20090113-222112/177460/

Anonymous said...

Cedar,
I am sure people would like to trust you, and probably do.

The problem is with Rodney Monroe and the CMPD.

A decent robbery detective was trying to do the right thing about the crime stats.

Word is he was threatened with a polygraph and finally moved back to patrol on third shift.

A good, devoted, ethical Officer in recruiting was moved back to patrol as a result of standing up to Rodney Monroe.

People are just afraid of the vindictiveness of this man, and with good reason.

When he is gone, the stories that will emerge will be amazing as to the extent of his purported unethical behaviors.

I am telling you, that is why the email about the Parking Placard has not been given to the media, and why the tape of his grandchilds daddy driving that car has not been turned over.
And why other "things" have not been verified.
Rodney has created an atmosphere of fear and hostility...and it is working, so far.
I feel people are getting really tired of his BS and will grow braver, I HOPE.

Anonymous said...

Written in the Times Dispatch:
By Karin Kapsidelis

Published: January 14, 2009

Virginia Commonwealth University will set up a confidential help line to make it easier for a whistle-blower to stop an ethics violation such as the one that led to the improper awarding of a bachelor's degree to a former Richmond police chief.

The tip line will be set up next month by an outside vendor to ensure confidentiality, VCU faculty and staff members were told yesterday at a campus forum on ethics.

VCU President Eugene P. Trani said the controversy over the degree awarded to Rodney Monroe, now police chief in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, N.C., should never have happened.

"It has done a significant amount of damage to the university's reputation" and could have been avoided had a single person spoken up, Trani said.

But Trani described it as "simply a one-off case" and read a letter from VCU's accreditation agency absolving the university of further action.

The ethics forum is one step the university has implemented as a result of its investigation, which found that Monroe was improperly awarded the degree after taking only two courses at VCU. Monroe had received his other credits primarily online from the University of Phoenix.

A spokeswoman for Monroe said yesterday that he has still not made a decision on whether he will return the degree.

Richard Bunce, VCU's executive director of audit and management services, said his investigation showed that any one of four people could have stopped the degree from being granted had they spoken up.

"And they failed to do so, or they chose not to do so," he said.

Trani said he was troubled by reports that some people were afraid to speak up before the degree was awarded in 2007.

"I absolutely reject that there is a climate of fear here," he said.


Contact Karin Kapsidelis at (804) 649-6119 or kkapsidelis@timesdispatch.co

Anonymous said...

When it is YOUR bogus degree that causes a big University to set up a confidential whistle blower hotline, I am thinking you should do the RIGHT THING and decline that degree and then get a degree the legitimate way.
Would you want the stench of a degree that you truly did not earn hanging over your head for the rest of your life?
I mean, how hard would it be to get the rest of his "credits" online at the U. Of Phoenix anyhow?
I'm thinking not too hard, I think he could do it.
And do not insult my intelligence by saying that "he thought the degree was legitimate". Sure he did.
I am just as sure he was in on the
"nod, nod, wink, wink degree".

Anonymous said...

You would think he'd given the degree back. If I was him I would have handed back a year ago.

If he was just John Doe anyone it wouldn't matter but as Chief of Police in a rather large city it does matter.

Right vs Wrong and the Chief of the CMPD should be so far in the right that he squeak when he walks.

This guy just stinks up a room when he walks.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with you on that, 100%.

He's just smarmy.

Anonymous said...

Cedar,
First I want to thank you for putting all the information out there, it gives one hope that maybe someone will pay attention.
But with the most recent "sweeping under the carpet", it doesn't seem likely.
So it seems that Rodneys' "influence"has spread to DSS.
And the total NonAnswer he gave when asked about his influence on his daughters hiring there, why did the press let him get away with that?
Bottom line, he continues to abuse his power, cross ethical, if not legal lines, and no one gives a darn.
He boldly lied to get the job, and continues to lie,as in the answer about his daughters job.
AND NO ONE CARES..is it because people are afraid of it becoming a racial "thing", as they tried to make it with the DSS thing?
It is very discouraging and upsetting that no one seems to care about ethics or morality, just low fake crime stats.
Doesn't say much about us, does it?
So, he will pad his resume and his bank account and move on, taking his entourage with him.
When he does move on, all those that have happily jumped on his disingenuous bandwagon better go with him..for their reputations at CMPD will be tarnished beyond repair.

Chip Starr said...

Note to all: Notice Ms. Monroe's name tag in the photo?

That is the correct placement for a reception-conference name tag.

However, most of the group has it on the left which is wrong.

The only exception to this rule would be Bob Dole who greet people with his left hand.

Anonymous said...

Heard the "Chief" got a "delivery" at the Station last week?

Wonder what that is all about?

Rea Road Neighborhood Coalition said...

No Surprise about the delivery, the chief is just spending the taxpayers money.

Details real soon it's a shocker!

Anonymous said...

Heard it was in an envelope....special delivery just for the Chief.