Tuesday, October 17, 2006

I Hope You're Still Sitting Down

From the Boston Herald:

Cops serve as chauffeurs, bellhops for visiting chiefs

Tipsy police brass visiting the Hub for a chief'’s conference are being ferried home from barrooms by city cops in BPD cruisers even as Boston grapples with one of the bloodiest weekends of the year, the Herald has learned.


What? They never heard of a fuckin' taxi before?

In addition, the BPD'’s newest police academy graduates were spotted carrying luggage for police chiefs as they checked into the swanky Langham Hotel, used as a command post for the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.

"It is a wholly inappropriate waste of taxpayers'’ money and police resources,"” said City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, chairman of the Public Safety Committee. An outspoken critic of the dwindling police ranks, Murphy was furious that BPD cops were taxiing visiting law enforcement officials and not patrolling the streets of Boston.

A total of 160 Boston cops were assigned to IACP bellhop and chauffeuring duties, sources said, even as the city deals with the lowest BPD headcount in more than a decade. In May, the Herald reported there are just 1,625 active duty cops patrolling city streets.


So, nearly TEN PERCENT of the active duty police force was assigned to pick up drunk police chiefs from local barrooms late at night, drive them back to their hotels, and carry their fucking luggage for them.

Great.

One reason. That's all I'm asking for.

Give me one reason why the higher-up at BPD who authorized this disgraceful abuse of public resources shouldn't be finding himself out of a job by the end of the day shift today.

Just one.

"We are providing transportation for those individuals with security needs, including major city chiefs," BPD spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. "Major city chiefs have been given the opportunity to call and request transportation from specific events. Individuals have been given a means of communication to request transportation."


With all due respect, Ms. Driscoll, kindly blow it out your ass.

The individuals who have "security needs" are the people living in Roxbury and Dorchester who are afraid to let their kids play in the park across the street or walk down to the corner store to pick up a quart of milk. And the people in Charlestown for whom tending to their garden has now become a life-threatening activity. Not to mention, the late-night gas station workers trying to feed their families and avoid being held up at gunpoint at 2:00 AM.

Where's their taxpayer-funded police protection?

And, I see it's been a while since we've had to fire up the old Mayor Menino Press Release Generator...

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said that he was not aware that city cops and BPD cruisers were being used as taxi cabs by police brass, but declined to criticize the practice saying it is a courtesy extended to keep visitors safe.


Hmmm...

On one hand, a drunk cop from Tennessee who needs to be saved from a would-be ten-dollar cab fare. On the other, a city overrun with gun-toting scumbags working overtime to exceed last year's ten-year high homicide rate.

Clearly, this is all New Hampshire's fault.

Or Kerry Healey's.

I'll get back to you with a more definite answer as soon as the latest polling results come back on this one.