Second in a series
Re “The Chief’s First Interview”
On the outside, Don Pedersen’s roller-coaster emotions run the game from A to B, and not one inch farther.
Verbally, the same short range applies.
In the face of last week’s unveiling of a 77 to 10 to 2 no-confidence vote in his leadership by the police union after four years as Police Chief of Culver City, is gnawing at him.
He never has come close to acknowledging it.
None of his 100-plus men and women in the Police Dept. , none of his five bosses on the City Council and certainly none of the workaday residents of Culver City has been allowed to steal even a sliver of a glimpse of the churning turmoil.
One expression: Resolute.
One response: Dignified at all times, head held high, tone firm, speaking only positive words.
Within the last 24 hours, the most important persons at City Hall have signed off on a letter to the newspapers supporting Mr. Pedersen in the tense, open-ended campaign to dump him. His organized fellow Los Angeles County police chiefs also have issued a statement of endorsement.
Where does that leave the chief?
“Obviously I am disappointed in the action of the union,” he said in his first newspaper interview. “I am still struggling to understand the logic of how we got to where we are today.
“I have always been one to believe you need to have dialogue if you have issues. By dialogue, I mean honest, open communication.
“The Board of the Police Officers Assn. has been in office since last January, and we only have met three times.
“It took me aback that this happened so quickly without any meaningful dialogue.”
Mr. Pedersen was asked to describe the three meetings with the board.
“A lot of the (five allegations) were never brought up during those meetings.
“One subject that was brought up in January was the incident with my vehicle. I told the union board, yes, the vehicle was damaged. I did not do the damage. I have never damaged any city vehicle.
“The damage was exceedingly minor, as they know. Basically, it was a scratch. It was repaired, and we moved on.
“I thought that had taken care of the concerns the union had, that maybe it was a simple misunderstanding.
“Obviously, that is not the case.”
What was the setting for the three meetings?
“The first meeting was at a restaurant, and we had two meetings at the Police Dept. I was by myself, and I believe all five members of the board were present. The first one was a breakfast meeting and lasted about an hour.”
Who called the meeting?
“I indicated toward the end of December I wanted to meet with the new board.
“Typically what I do, as I have in the past, is meet with the POA to discuss issues. We meet on a regular basis.”
During your first three years in Culver City, you met regularly with the POA board?
“Yes. We didn’t have a standard schedule but we would meet every several months. I was always available for them, had they had any issues. In the past, the POA President has felt very comfortable calling or sending emails, and we dealt with any concerns.”
At the first meeting, did you have a chance to fully air your feelings to the POA board?
“I didn’t have anything I felt I needed to make a case for. Basically, it was ‘let’s talk about issues and get to know each other.’ I believe relationships are very important. I didn’t bring an agenda to the meeting.”
Did you feel, perhaps for the first time, you may have been entering a den of lions?
“I don’t think so.”
What was the configuration of the meeting — back-and-forth dialogue or did they have questions for you?
“It was a very cordial meeting. No problems. They had some questions. And they told me they had conducted their survey in December and indicated morale was very low in the department. They said it was their intention to work on that issue. I shared that I would like to work on that also. But it was a cordial meeting.”
Do you think they made a fair representation when they said morale was low?
“I would have to tell you morale is something of a personal matter. People choose to have good morale at times. I will tell you I think a number of our employees here have very high morale. People have told me that.
“Overall. I think morale is okay. But when they told me morale was so low, of course that was a concern.”
(To be continued)
