Detroit captain LaShanna Potts accepted Columbus city’s offer for the newly created assistant chief role on June 7. However, veteran Columbus officers are questioning this decision.
According to Columbus Public Safety Spokesman Glenn McEntyre, the offer has only been given to Potts and no one else. The veteran officers are concerned about how the entire hiring process is being conducted and why the final date for the role has been changed from June 14 to June 11.
Emails from the Columbus Division of Police revealed that Potts’ offer letter is dated june 8, the same day the job for the assistant chief was uploaded on the Civil Service Commission website. While the website says the pay is still being decided, her offer letter indicates an annual salary of about $200,000.
Ken Kuebler, the Deputy Chief, sent out an email to his commanders to withdraw their names or ignore the role offer as he considered the process a sham. The goal was never to find the best person who fit the role as there was no open process with equal opportunity for the candidates to prove their capabilities.
Kuebler withdrew his application because of the issues with the hiring process. He even went to the Columbus Public Safety’s HR director about the same when he learned the role had already been offered to Potts. However, the HR director did not reveal much regarding the matter and gave a diplomatic reply. As for the confusion with the closing dates, the HR director said it was a simple miscommunication and nothing else.
Here is what Ned Pettus, the Safety Director, had to say about the controversies, “This classification affords the future Chief of Police the freedom and flexibility to appoint at least some of her or his own executive staff to assist in the management of the Division. To achieve the kind of change and reform we need, it only makes sense to provide the next Chief the resources, and the flexibility, to meet the demands of this community and change the culture of the Columbus Division of Police.”