Call for Better Screening Not Enough

Like a thunderstorm that has long since passed on a hot summer afternoon, soon all that will be left of the Marcus Jackson story will be a hazy memory.

Come summer I expect most of Charlotte's citizens will forget the cold December when a Police officer used his badge and authority to attack at least six Charlotte women.

For now the Chief and his supporters have deflected blame by saying Jackson was hired before he (Monroe) became Chief. The Charlotte Observer's editorial staff re-enforced this excuse by demanding "Lax police screening practices must be fixed"

In short Chief Monroe and the Observer are saying Marcus Jackson was simply a "bad hire".



Frankly if Chief Monroe can't see a violent sexual offender by sitting next right next to him at the academy, standing before him at graduation, or after nearly 12 months of supervising him on the street how will we ever feel safe in Charlotte?

The trouble is not with the pre-employment screening process. Yes tighter controls might have helped vet out Jackson, and maybe he would not have been hired. But Jackson fell through the cracks "after" he was hired.

The attack on his ex is where CMPD supervisors missed the big "red flag".

When the Mint Hill Police Department put CMPD on notice that Marcus Jackson was a violent offender that should have been enough to pull him off the streets.

The lack of supervision after Jackson graduated is appalling.

Chief Monroe has already stated he has no plans to re-check the back grounds on recent CMPD hires.

Since the CMPD lacks the desire, ability or even the structure to conduct continuing review and background checks on their officers this will happen again.

Without ongoing screening and putting in place the ability to monitor officers for off duty and out of state problems this will happen again.

Chief Monroe tells the media he's made changes yet he refuses to detail these changes and the lack of transparency at CMPD will continue.

Recently Chief Rodney Monroe posted a video that was for CMPD officers only. In the video he rails against those who "talk" to the media, and blames them for the media firestorm surounding Jackson, while saying he is confident that Jackson is a rare and unusal case. A week later we have Fuel Pizza.

Marcus Jackson will soon be forgotten, just another perp locked up in some jail house.

But the lack of transparency from Chief Monroe's office, his unwillingness to be upfront at about changes he has put in place and the lack of ongoing review for CMPD officers will linger like a hot summer day that never seems to end.

And often those long hot summer days bring a night of storms.