Apr
What is this blog about and why am I doing this?
When I was sworn in as a Police Officer back in 2004 I took an oath to uphold the law and the constitution. As a proud citizen of this great nation I took that oath very seriously. In the intervening years I have tried and I think diligently succeeded in upholding my oath. During that time I have been disappointed in finding that people in the upper management of both the Portsmouth Police Department and in the City of Portsmouth government do not share my credo to uphold the law and the constitution.
Each step of the way I have done what I believe is the legal, moral, ethical and right thing to do. I have not caved in to pressure to take action contrary to my views or my undying view that doing the “right thing” is more important then doing the popular thing or blindly following an order. Hitler in WWII showed what happens when subordinates blindly follow orders and that is a lesson I will never forget as someone of Jewish heritage.
This blog will slowly be populated with information that I have gathered over the past several years. This includes documents I have obtained via the Virginia Freedom if Information Act (FOIA), personal contact I have had with others and various situations that I have been involved in. I will include information that shows a wanton disregard of City of Portsmouth Policies by senior members of the Police Department and violations of both state and federal laws by those same people. The picture this paints of the Portsmouth Police Department is bleak and shows they feel they are both immune from Police Department policies, City of Portsmouth policies and the very laws they are charged with enforcing. That policies are selectively enforced and that the “old boys club” is still alive and well in goverment. The Portsmouth Police department as a whole, especially the troops in the trenches are hard working, dedicated and good people but a select few at the top have lost touch with their oath to uphold the law and duty to uphold the Police Department policies uniformly.
What do I get out of this quest? Nothing except putting a public light on some problems that have infested the department by a select few senior officers. I have been told and believe that this blog will do nothing to help me personally and more then likely will harm me now while I am in the process of grieving my termination that was instituted by Police Chief Edward Long and approved by City Manager Kenneth Chandler and in the future if I need to find other employment . But as I have said sometimes doing the right thing is not the easiest thing to do nor is it a path to personal advancement but if you follow good morals, ethics and do the “right thing” you can rarely go wrong. I am hopeful but not optimistic that their are people in and out of the Portsmouth government that feel as I do and will not tolorate these abuses. They are contrary to a free and open society. The City of Portsmouth and in particular the Portsmouth Police Department think they are above the law and I say that is unacceptable. Even though they terminated me I have every intention of following through with the oath I took to uphold the law and the constitution. I may be out of a job but I still have my ethics, morals, honor and credibility intact. I plan on moving forward no matter the outcome of my termination grievance.
Anyway, if anyone out there knows of a Law Enforcement Agency that has a need for someone interested in upholding the law and constitution over all other interests please contact me as I may be looking for another job in the near future.
..Jim Conrad, Former Police Officer City of Portsmouth VA
