Friday, July 20, 2007

Lopez Press Conference

With the Whichard Committee on the verge of its first hearing, Jose Lopez was introduced as the new police chief of Durham, to start September 1.

Among the oddities: A search for maximizing pensions was not confined to Mike Nifong. Reports the Herald-Sun's Ray Gronberg,
[City Manager Patrick] Baker said he, [Steve] Chalmers and the city's Human Resources Department are still trying to decide what the outgoing chief will do once Lopez arrives.

Chalmers is retiring at the end of the year and naturally enough is concerned about the implications the timing of his departure will have on his pension, Baker said.
Only in Durham could the perpetually absent police chief receive a four month parachute. No one appears to find it odd that a police chief who has absented himself for months at a time since the lacrosse case began will now effectively be paid to do nothing for four months.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Ron Hodge, the man who Lopez beat out for the job, plans to remain in his position--where he can use the department's #2 slot to forward his belief that the DPD has made no serious errors in the last five years.

Only in Durham.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, that's the way it works in government these days. Nobody cares about the taxpayers' money.

Anonymous said...

Private companies are getting rid of traditional pensions, while government is increasing them!

Anonymous said...

I was a little surprised at some of Lopez's comments. It's like he's telling Durham there are no problems and that he is not going to upset the department which is now in place.
If this is true, he'll keep the same corruption going when he arrives.
From the photo in the N&O, his wife Rebecca looks black. That explains some things. We all knew that the officials in Durham would hire only someone black. Since the other candidates were so bad, Lopez got the job with everyone's blessing because a member of his family "looks right" to Durham.
(OID)

Anonymous said...

Traditionally, Durham would hire as chief the person who had beat his wife less often than the other candidates. At least that was the the way it seemed. Not that I am casting aspersions, mind you, just remember the process as it played out in the past.

mac said...

Chalmers should clean out the cages
at the zoo, where at least it could be said that he's doing an admirable
job of cleaning up.

Anonymous said...

Lopez's wife is definitely a big black woman. Just saw her on the news with him.

GaryB said...

Needs a criminal investigation to get some cleaning done.

Sounds like quite a police chief -- 4 more months on the dole, then hook him up to the public pension trough. Never mind enabling PR disasters or railroading the innocent, a meritocracy dis ain't. Good "work" if you can find it!