Our BG Police Chief firing.

As 200-300 people packed the December 21st 2009 Battle Ground City Council meeting and displayed their feelings in regards to the unexpected firing of police chief James McDaniel, one thing that struck me was that it is unfortunate that it takes a controversial issue like this one to get citizen involvement and awareness of their leaders. As someone who lost an election for Battle Ground City Council by only 56 votes I fully appreciate this. Now to the crux of the issue, James McDaniel’s was a fine Chief; perhaps the best Battle Ground has had up to this point in our city’s history. He definitely was in the leadership role as our Battle Ground Police department went through profound changes that transformed it to the leading law enforcement agency in North Clark County and perhaps Clark County itself. I did not have the pleasure to work with the Chief on a day-by-day schedule so there is no way I could see the interaction and issues that may have been present; we are all human and being so makes us subject to failure, lapses in judgment and error. With that said, I have no substantial data or logic to develop an opinion on whether the firing was just.(the City Manager is not required to release such data for public scrutiny due to potential legal ramifications)

Was it legal to do so by the City Manager? I think the resounding answer is yes. We all live in an at-will employment state and unless you are apart of a Union or self-employed, being fired at anytime without cause in part of reality. After the firing occurred the City Manager stated that “He wanted to take the Police department in a new direction” and to many this would imply a “policy shift” or “policy change” not a simple administrative action. With a policy shift there are seven individuals that must be called upon for direction, our City Council. Perhaps the City Manager misspoke or perhaps he was truly trying to do a “good” thing for Mr. McDaniel’s by not placing a black mark on his resume thus hurting his future reputation, one can only guess. However one thing is for certain, regardless if you agree with the firing or not, regardless if it was the correct thing to do or not and regardless if mistakes were made or not, the firing is legally irreversible. I applaud our City Council for taking a step in the right direction by directing the initiation of an audit of the City Manager and an investigation of illegal executive session leaks. I urge in the name of transparency that they both be done with a sense of urgency. In the end, if warranted faults are found the City Council needs to take corrective action against the City Manger. If certain council members are found to have breached their fiduciary duty they need to be disciplined fully and their resignation should be demanded. If there is one positive thing that comes out of this unwanted event it is hopefully more citizens will be involved and aware of their city government and keep their leaders accountable regardless of how major or minor the issues may be. We have many important issues facing our city; from mandated storm water issues that could affect jobs and our future growth to ongoing budgetary concerns. Our local government needs active citizen involvement, collaboration and constructive criticism to work properly. We can bounce back from any setback and we can do many great things for our future.