Published: Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 4:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 4:23 a.m.
And most city commissioners agreed, but not the panel's creator.
Mayor Gow Fields, who personally organized the advisory panel, handpicking its members, told The Ledger this week that any examination of the two administrators would fall outside of the panel's scope.
"They won't investigate what they (Thomas and Womack) knew and failed to do," Fields said. "If the City Commission wants Doug and Lisa investigated, then that's their role."
City Commissioner Phillip Walker echoed Fields' comments.
"We're the ones who are in charge of Doug," Walker said.
But Commissioners Howard Wiggs, Keith Merritt, Don Selvage and Edie Yates said the panel should be allowed to question and investigate Thomas and Womack if the inquiry takes them in that direction.
They should face tough questions, Selvage said, such as how the widespread sexual misconduct that led to the panel's task could have lasted so long without their knowledge.
"I'm sure they (Thomas and Womack) are asking themselves that," Selvage said.
Fields organized the panel this month, calling it a "vehicle for citizen involvement," in response to revelations of widespread sexual misconduct at LPD that, according to city officials, went on for more than a decade and involved other city departments.
Through a series of resignations, the panel has dropped from 15 to nine members. Fields asked it to consider what he described as a narrow set of questions:
"Does the city and Police Department have the appropriate processes in place to address current challenges? What can be done to improve the culture within the LPD? What can be done to improve citizen trust?"
Bruce Abels, the retired president of Saddle Creek Corp., whom the panel chose as co-chair last week, said Fields asked them to examine the city government as a whole, but it should train its eye initially on LPD. Womack and Thomas are "certainly not off limits."
"Anything we look at, we're going to look at what the chief did or didn't do, or the city manager did or didn't do," he said. But, Abels added, "I don't think we're in the position to give them a job evaluation."
Katrina Lunsford, a Fifth Third Bank vice president picked for the panel, said she expected Thomas and Womack to be included in the inquiry.
"Quite naturally, the scope would look at current leadership," Lunsford said. "You can't dismiss leadership from this experience."
Jim Sewell, a retired assistant commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said panel members still have work to do in getting their hands around the specifics of their job. Examining Thomas and Womack could be part of their work, he said, "but (what) we want to make sure is that it's not a witch hunt for anyone."
"We have to get some answers before we say, 'Yes we are' and 'No we're not.' There may be times we go back to the mayor and commission and (ask) ? is this in our charge?" he said. "It's fair to say, 'We need to look into this.'?"
Panel member Frank O'Reilly, former Lakeland mayor and School Board member, said he wants to take a broader approach to the task to avoid micromanaging City Hall or LPD.
"We don't need to get into the nitty-gritty," O'Reilly said.
He said it's already apparent Thomas needs to change his leadership style.
O'Reilly suggested Thomas and possibly Fields speak with officers on a quarterly basis to ensure they will come forward in the future if there are issues.
The former mayor said he and former City Manager Gene Strickland met with officers regularly.
"Gene had tremendous rapport with the officers," O'Reilly said. "That's what city managers do.
"Doug Thomas has to take the lead on this thing."
Panel member Paul Roberts said it's too early to tell what the committee will investigate at LPD.
The former Polk County Sheriff's deputy and Winter Haven police officer, who is now a Lakeland High School teacher, said he wants to look at how city officials responded to regulations and rules. And the advisory panel is there to provide a different perspective than LPD or city officials.
"Is there anything we can see that the city manager's office or LPD isn't seeing?" Roberts asked.
Panel members Rick Garcia, Myra Bryant, Tim Jackson and Mary Smith could not be reached.
LIMITED SCOPE?
The lone city commissioner opposed to the panel is Wiggs, who said he can't support its current format because of its limited scope. He said he plans to address other issues he has with the group at the commission's Monday agenda study meeting at 7:30 a.m. at City Hall.
Wiggs, who is running for mayor against Fields, said he has heard from too many residents who think city commissioners should be investigating and making necessary changes to LPD.
Tasking an advisory panel to examine the department suggests there's "disunity" in the way the city is handling the problem.
"Many people have said, 'Why is the city abdicating responsibility when ultimately it comes back to you anyway?'?" Wiggs said.
"This is something that affects the entire community, yet there is no unity because of the way it is structured."
Fields disagreed the city commission is ceding any of its duties to the panel. He likened the panel's role to that of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, which makes recommendations to the commission.
"Ultimately, the City Commission is responsible," he said.
Two other commissioners said they want some clarity.
Merritt said he wants it made clear the advisory panel is reporting to the City Commission ? not the city manager. He said he also expects the panel to investigate anyone at city hall if its members deem it necessary.
Yates agreed.
"Anything that comes to their attention, certainly the city will listen to them," she said.
Commissioner Justin Troller did not return a phone message.
RANGE OF ISSUES
Ledger interviews with panel members and city commissioners showed each has his or her own ideas about what should come out of the advisory group's work.
Selvage wants recommendations from the panel on how to make the Police Department and City Hall more transparent.
Whether it's a recommendation for a city ombudsman who assists with complaints about the city, or a change in leadership style, Selvage said commissioners will ultimately decide any changes that must be made.
"Some are saying we're avoiding hard decisions," he said.
"But it will have to be the city that solves this."
Abels said he has basic concerns over how the panel will carry out its legwork.
"This isn't like a congressional investigation where we have a large staff," he said. "We're just going to have to look at that.
"We're making this up as we go along. But unfortunately, none of us do this for a living."
Abels said he thinks part of their task is determining why the misconduct happened. The department might have policies, but it didn't stop problems from happening. "Why these people did what they did, (that's) very hard, and I don't know we'll ever have an answer."
There are some questions the panel will have to take up concerning LPD crime analyst Sue Eberle, the woman at the center of the sexual misconduct allegations, and whether, as Abels put it, she was "truly part of the problem."
"I am not ready to rush to judgment," Abels said. "But the number of people involved with her over what's apparently 12 to 13 years certainly gives one significant reasons to wonder."
At the panel's first meeting, Sewell, the former FDLE second-in-command, gave the most concrete outline of areas it could examine.
He suggested looking at how LPD "acculturates" its officers to stated values and how it makes those values "living and breathing." He suggested they look into training; report writing; and how quickly officers finish reports, as well as "what the field training officers do to support that."
At the panel's first meeting, he also mentioned looking into management and supervision "because you had supervisors involved in some of these issues. What were the gaps that occurred that allowed that to happen, and how do we fix them?"
Sewell said he also plans to suggest that the commission place all the documents it requests and reviews online for the public to review.
"It makes sense," he said. "Transparency is important."
[ Matthew Pleasant can be reached at matthew.pleasant@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]
Source: http://www.theledger.com/article/20130731/news/130809998
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