No More ‘All Hands on Deck’ for D.C. Cops, Ruling Says
The Metropolitan Police Department's "All Hands on Deck" initiative violates the terms of officers' labor contract and must be ended, an arbitrator has ruled.
"AHODs," three-day periods during which all sworn police officers are required to work eight-hour patrol shifts, have been a favorite tool of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Chief Cathy L. Lanier since 2007. They've credited the initiative with being at least partly responsible for record low levels of violent crime. But police union officials have long decried the AHODs as essentially a publicity stunt that generate goodwill for politicians at the expense of rank-and-file officers. The Fraternal Order of Police filed a grievance challenging the practice earlier this year.
In an opinion released today [PDF], arbitrator John C. Truesdale largely agreed with the union's arguments, ruling that the AHODs violated several terms of the police contract. He declined to take into account the policing value of the AHODs, calling them "apparently well received in the District of Columbia." But due to the contract violations, he ordered the department to rescind the 2009 AHOD order and pay time-and-a-half overtime to officers who participated in the six AHODs that have taken place this year.
Two more AHODs are scheduled for this year---starting Nov. 13 and Dec. 17. A request for comment from city officials, including on whether those AHODs will continue, was not immediately returned. Lanier vowed in a statement to continue the AHODs and appeal Truesdale's ruling.
Despite the victory, police union chief Kristopher Baumann was not in a gloating mood. "It's sort of bittersweet, because this turned out to be a big waste of time and money....This was an initiative or a program that was not effective."
The department can now appeal to the Public Employee Relations Board, and on to Superior Court if necessary. Baumann calls on Fenty and Lanier to "respect the decision, respect the law, respect the contract and not appeal it again and again and cost the District hundreds of thousands."
"The odds of them prevailing on appeal are almost zero," he says.
UPDATE, 7 P.M.: Lanier has released a statement: "I disagree with the arbitrator’s decision and am confident it will be overturned on appeal. I announced the dates for the All Hands on Deck a year in advance out of consideration for the officers and their families. The crime emergencies of the past were reactionary, costly and extremely hard on the officers and their families. Notwithstanding today’s ruling, the All Hands on Deck initiatives will continue pursuant to my authority under both the labor agreement and District personnel law. As our reduction in violent crimes and homicides this year demonstrates, the initiative is in the best interest of our city and the safety of our residents. I do intend to appeal today’s decision and look forward to a ruling on the legal conclusions reached by the arbitrator in this action."
Photo by Darrow Montgomery
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7:31 pm
This is another example of the lawlessness that dominates the Fenty administration, his Chief of Police and Attorney General. They have been wrong on the law in every major case that they litigated and have been smacked down by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals for DC, DC Superior Court, the Public Employees Relations Board, and arbitrators. If we cannot count on the AG and the Chief to follow the law, we are doomed. This is about the rule of law nothing else. Keep holding them accountable Baumann.
9:24 pm
I appeciate and look forward to the All Hands on Deck. I love seeing the officers out and about and working hard to make the community safer. I hope they can work this out.
10:05 pm
LANIER ORDERED TO RESCIND
ALL HANDS ON DECK
The Fraternal Order of Police, Metropolitan Police Department Labor Committee (FOP) is pleased to announce that it has prevailed in the first of several arbitrations involving Chief Lanier’s All Hands on Deck (AHOD) initiative. In an opinion released today, Arbitrator John Truesdale ruled that AHOD violated the FOP’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (Agreement) and D.C. law. The Department has been ordered to rescind AHOD for 2009 and to pay FOP members for violating their rights.
Arbitrator Truesdale determined that Chief Lanier “did not honor and support the commitments contained” in the Agreement and the Department; 1) violated the rights of members by improperly changing days off and tours of duty; 2) failed to bargain with the FOP; and 3) failed to follow D.C. law. As a result, the Department has been ordered to rescind the Teletype authorizing AHOD for 2009, notify all members of the Department it has done so, and to compensate all members for violating their scheduling rights during each AHOD in 2009.
As you know, the Chief has constantly taken credit for the reduction in crime and violence in the District, heralding her AHOD initiative as part of the basis for the reduction. As every real police officer knows, however, the reduction has been a result of the day to day hard work of police officers, not public relations stunts such as AHOD or the violations of constitutional rights in the Trinidad quarantine zones. If AHOD deployments were really responsible for a reduction in crime, then the Mayor would have moved for hiring enough officers to provide AHOD-levels of manpower everyday. Instead the Mayor just submitted a budget cutting the number of police officers by 10% over the next year through attrition (and cutting police retirement benefits).
It is important to remember that this is just one of the hundreds of violations that the FOP has been forced to arbitrate. This is going to be a long fight. Chief Lanier and Mayor Fenty have made it clear that they do not respect the Agreement, working police officers, or the rights of employees. This decision will, hopefully, be the first in a long line of arbitration decisions that will put an end to faithless and dishonorable practices of this Administration. Because the Department will not meet its obligations under the Agreement and D.C. law, arbitrators and judges will have to be asked to compel it to do so.
A copy of the Arbitrator's opinion has been sent to each Chief Shop Steward. Please contact them for a copy of the opinion. Under the Agreement, the Department has 20 days in which it may appeal the decision to the Public Employees Relations Board.
9:33 am
So Her statement is the same as Fenty/Nickles....we don't care what the arbitrators, superior court or the court says. We have law degrees so we know better. Because we have law degrees, that means we dont have to follow the law right? Dummys
3:37 pm
Because they're being paid to incarcerate people who disobeys the law - does that mean they too don't have to follow it. I mean why should anyone? You ignore the law - gives other the right to assume they can too.
9:18 am
I am so glad people are starting to see Fenty and his bandits for what they appear to be: lawless bandits who have no regard for the laws they were elected and/or appointed to uphold. It is a disgrace that our nation's capital continues to be an example of stupidity, ignorance and a blatant disregard for right and wrong. So let the lawsuits flow, let the settlements flow and let November 2010 come so Fenty can be the one term mayor he is now in reality.