A controversial policy change which has pitted Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen against officers within the police department was approved by the Civil Service Commission 2-1 Thursday following a meeting in executive session.
Commission Chairman Al Hatcher voted against the measure.
The policy which passed is a revised version of the proposed changes McQueen advocated to the Columbus City Council Tuesday. The council declined to vote on it at that meeting, kicking it back to the commission for further review.
“I went before the mayor and the city council and requested they listen to everyone who wanted to speak, so now we are back,” McQueen said Thursday.
McQueen said the council approved his changes two days previously, but Hatcher accused him of not entirely telling the truth.
“Chief, we were told this was not approved by the council,” Hatcher said, before the commission went into executive session.
Under the new policy the commission finally approved, current officers will be given first priority for promotions, providing they pass their admissions tests for the new rank by at least 70 percent, and new hires will enter the force at the same rank they held with their previous employer.
Under the previous regulations, officers who joined the department began as patrolmen and worked their way up, losing the rank they held at their previous job.
Officers have been vociferous in their complaints against both the previous policy and the latest version, saying they have the education and experience to fill the department’s upper ranks and were eligible for promotion years ago, that officers within the department should be given first pick for advancement and that new hires should still begin as patrolmen.
McQueen has repeatedly contended that some officers requesting promotions have not passed tests to advance and, in some cases, have even been in disciplinary trouble.
Twenty-year veteran Wade Beard, who has been one of the most outspoken officers in the past month regarding McQueen’s proposed changes, protested the revised policy as well.
“We supported Chief McQueen,” Beard said. “We have an accurate promotions list right now. If he is saying we will be promoted first, then why doesn’t he promote us before enforcing this lateral policy? If that is true, why is he saying he doesn’t recommend anyone on the list for a promotion because he doesn’t agree with the rules? If he’s not going to keep his word now, what makes you think he’s going to keep it later? That’s what we officers are worried about.”
While McQueen contends he only sought to change the language of the policy because it is too exclusive, Beard said the changes hurt the department internally.
“When (McQueen) says that he’s not going to promote anyone in the department, it’s killing the morale,” Beard said. “Morale is at an all-time low.”
But Commissioner Thomas Moore said by passing the new policy, the commission is giving McQueen some flexibility.
“We can always look at it again in the future,” Moore said of Thursday’s decision.
The policy changes are subject to a 30-day waiting period before they take effect.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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