John Gaccione

06/21/17

For Summer Solstice Release

Here at headquarters we are happy to report that many of the faithful have taken to displaying their thoughts about the future of our local police department via homegrown lawn signs. These signs have been sprouting up and spreading like weeds.

The sign messages encourage keeping our police independent and warn against contracting for police services. Of course one could say that some of our officers have had a tendency to become too independent, so independent that they violated department standards and had to be disciplined. And left in their wake of “independence” was a multitude of litigation and legal bills for Kensington.

But there is little to be gained by publicly airing every problem our KPD has had over the years. Is there really a need to continually dwell on the past poor behavior and mistakes made by some of our police officers? As many folks have said, it’s time to move on.

What purpose does it serve to call the public’s attention to the department’s very generous benefits and pay, recurring disciplinary actions, lack of community policing, expanding financial liabilities and the need for officers to have their own personal squad cars? Better to focus on big picture emotional topics such as keeping our police independent.

Keeping an independent force means it would be free from the influence and control of an outside authority, like say Albany, Berkeley or El Cerrito. More importantly, a so-called independent police department would be “our” police department.

The supporters of contracting speak about the benefits of having better training resources, a bigger personnel pool to always provide full staffing, specialized human resources and investigation departments and financial savings. But to enjoy these benefits Kensington would need to rethink its view of police services.

So kudos to all of the faithful who have lawn signs on their property and even large banners in front of their houses. Yes, let a thousand signs bloom or at least 600. And remember as one old observer once opined, “facts are inconvenient to the scenario”.

Keeping Kensington Opaque Since 2008