Friday, February 14, 2014

TWI reports solidly on Amati case

The Woodstock Independent reporter Katelyn Stanek has done an excellent job in informing Woodstock residents on the case involving Woodstock Police Sgt. Chip Amati.

See her article this week right here: www.thewoodstockindependent.com/February-2014/City-Amati-will-not-face-further-punishment/

Better yet, pick up your own copy of Woodstock's weekly paper at a neighborhood retail outlet or at the newspaper's offices and read it (and save it).

Katelyn points out where the City's protection of its residents, voters and property owners fell apart. The City Manager and the Police Chief made, in effect, a decision that threw up a barrier to any harsher discipline by the City.

The chief certainly would have informed the city manager, when the scandal began brewing. The city manager should have informed the mayor. I have no doubt that he did, but I don't know that he did. Why would he not have?

When the police chief put the problem in front of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners on October 28, the police chief recommended a 30-day suspension. That's all. He could have recommended termination, and then the Board could have accepted that recommendation or decided on something less harsh.

But, when he recommended the 30-day suspension, that apparently put the brakes on anything more severe.

Could the City now terminate Sgt. Amati? The City says it can't. I don't accept that. I think they could. I think they don't want to.

The question about whether Amati should be terminated is getting lost in the argument about whether the City could terminate him. Maybe they shouldn't. But it looks like they are running scared, and that's a weak position to be in, when the next problem arises.

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