The Board Without Direction

Known to nearly everyone in the area is the Mifflin County Regional Police board’s firing of Chief William Herkert. The board says they fired him for willful misconduct and insubordination but would not allow a public hearing that details how Herkert’s actions warranted his dismissal.

Interestingly, when a board makes a decision to fire someone, its members usually want to state their reasons publicly so the populace would understand that their decision was reasonable, not arbitrary and capricious. They often feel frustrated because confidentiality and possible litigation prevent them from doing so.

This leads to the $64,000 question. Why would the board not welcome Herkert’s request for a public hearing if they believed their reasons for firing him were valid?

One explanation could be the validity of the “internal investigation.” I suspect it is full of holes. As any police officer will tell you, conducting a valid investigation involves finding tangible evidence of wrongdoing. This requires that investigators separate fact from opinion and verify the evidence they have without bias toward the accused or accuser.

This begs a second question. How can an accurate internal investigation be conducted against the boss without bias when those conducting the investigation are affected by the boss’s dismissal?

The board could have hired an external investigator with no ties to the regional police force to conduct the investigation if they truly wanted the facts to come out. Instead, they chose to trust the word of the officers who stand to gain the most from Herkert’s dismissal, over the word of Chief Herkert.

It sounds to me like Chief Herkert wanted to make changes in the force and these changes upset the officers who were comfortable with the way things were done before he came. And because they didn’t like his new way of doing business, they successfully conducted an end-run around him and got him fired.

The board’s action to fire Herkert emphatically states that they believe the regional police officers know best how to run the force. If so, then they should not hire another police chief and simply allow the officers to conduct police business on their own the way they want with no direction from a higher authority. Or perhaps, the board could buy a cardboard cutout to serve as police chief, prop it up behind the desk, and rig a voice-activated tape recorder to it that says “yes” anytime someone makes a request.

I again ask for all members of the board of directors of the Mifflin County Regional Police to resign. Do the right thing now, because you could not do the right thing earlier.