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Chief Curtsinger fired; supporters are furious

 
Published Feb. 29, 1992|Updated Oct. 10, 2005

St. Petersburg Police Chief Ernest "Curt" Curtsinger was fired Friday, just 18 months after he took the helm of one of Florida's largest police departments and only a day after most City Council members expressed their strong support for him.

"I was concerned over the chief's ability to deal with sensitive issues in this city and in the (police) department," interim City Manager Don McRae said at a noon news conference to announce the firing.

Art Runyon, a 24-year veteran of the department, was named interim chief while a nationwide search begins for a permanent replacement.

Reaction to Curtsinger's dismissal was strong and divided.

"This city made the decision that we are not going to turn back the clock 30 years," said Sevell Brown, president of the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and one of Curtsinger's harshest critics.

But City Council member and Vice Mayor Connie Kone complained that the allegations against Curtsinger were vague and said that he should be given a chance to answer specific charges.

And the Police Benevolent Association, which represents rank-and-file officers, announced plans to try to amend the city's charter so the City Council could rehire Curtsinger if he wanted to return.

Meanwhile, dozens of angry Curtsinger supporters shouted and jeered outside the conference room where McRae held his news conference, at one point banging on a window. A pro-Curtsinger rally is planned for 9 a.m. today at City Hall, 175 Fifth St. N.

The firing was civil and swift, McRae said. Around 10 a.m. Friday, he called the chief and asked him to come to City Hall. There, in McRae's office, "I said, "I'm going to be terminating you.' "

"And he said, "Very well.' "

Curtsinger, in jeans and a T-shirt, returned to police headquarters, where he emotionally embraced colleagues. But he smiled as he headed for his car.

"Christ," he said, "It's not like I'm dying. You guys are too goddamn good to let this get you down."

"I'm sorry it's come to this," he said later, adding that he will "relax for a couple of days." He declined to comment further, saying he had hired an attorney to explore his options.

Curtsinger, who made $78,000 a year, will get four weeks' severance and any vacation pay due him. He also has a $57,000-a-year pension from the Los Angeles Police Department, where he spent 26 years before coming to St. Petersburg in August 1990.

Curtsinger, 50, assumed his new job with high promise. "He brings the kind of expertise St. Petersburg needs," then-City Manager Robert Obering said. "He's accessible to the media and community, and he knows our department very well."

Within a few months, Curtsinger proposed a new community policing plan, encouraging officers to walk beats and get to know residents rather than just make arrests. He made frequent appearances before neighborhood associations and urged residents to offer ideas for improving the police department.

But the chief also was blunt and unyielding in his plans to run the department, his critics contend. And several incidents showed him to be insensitive, especially to black people, they say.

They blame him for suspending a cultural-sensitivity class when some officers said they were offended by "white-bashing;" and for holding up the promotion of a black sergeant but later giving the man a second promotion, saying it was "affirmative action."

Curtsinger also was blasted for ordering internal affairs investigations into the actions of some black officers who had criticized him, including the department's top-ranking black officer, Assistant Chief Goliath Davis.

On Tuesday, the Community Alliance _ an influential group of business and civic leaders _ said it "could not endorse (Curtsinger's) retention," saying his actions had "created irreconcilable differences, which have compromised his ability to lead the police department." On Thursday, an editorial in the St. Petersburg Times urged the chief to resign.

At his news conference Friday, McRae was vague when pressed for details on what Curtsinger had done to justify being fired. When asked if Curtsinger was a racist, he replied: "No, I don't think he's a racist."

Asked if Curtsinger had been fired for insubordination, McRae said: "I can't think of any instance where he was" insubordinate.

But late Friday, McRae sent a letter to all council members explaining his decision.

Curtsinger "brought a healthy, vibrant spirit to St. Petersburg" and didn't intend "to insult any race, or gender or any member of the community," the letter said. But "his comments continued to demonstrate a lack of sensitivity to the characteristics of many groups within the city of St. Petersburg. Despite my constant efforts to help him in this area, I saw no improvement or any basis to anticipate that there would be improvement."

In an interview with the Times, McRae enumerated other reasons:

Curtsinger lacked "cooperation and interest" in working through channels on new programs. For instance, he wanted to buy more cars so his community policing officers could take them home and have them at their disposal. A similar policy was controversial in Tampa, and McRae said it was an issue that had budgetary and labor relations implications in St. Petersburg. But rather than discuss it with McRae first, the chief sent it with his budget request, McRae said.

Curtsinger "failed to keep me informed on sensitive and unusual occurances, such as (cancellation of) cultural-diversity training. I learned about that from a reporter."

Curtsinger "failed to follow through on issues that had a high degree of public interest to the community. The last three days, he and (Assistant City Manager Rick) Dodge and I talked about some things that might help to settle things down in the community, and he agreed to some things. Especially some things relating to Chief Davis, sitting down with him and letting Chief Davis know what his expectations were. Several days later we found out that that had not happened."

Curtsinger was not aggressive enough in reaching out to parts of the community that felt alienated. "I was expecting him to be more aggressive in doing that. I can think of one occasion when he went out to visit at a lady's house and that was publicized in the media, but other than that he didn't do anything."

"I've got a lot of departments," McRae said, "and I'll help as much as I can, but I don't think I can be expected to hold hands with a department head when we agree to certain conceptual ideas to move things forward."

Early this week, Curtsinger knew the end was near, McRae indicated in his interview with the Times. At a meeting Tuesday, according to McRae, the chief talked about resigning as a way to end the controversy: "I'd at least like to have the opportunity, if I did it, (to wait) till my kids get out of school."

McRae said he felt that was "a fair notion" and said he would discuss it with the City Council.

"He thought about that and he called me sometime after six Wednesday morning and he said he decided not to resign," McRae said.

McRae denied suggestions by a black patrolman that McRae had conspired with Assistant Chief Davis to find a way to justify Curtsinger's firing.

Patrolman Ron Adams, a 17-year veteran of the force, said he had heard that McRae met Davis and two other black officers at the McRae Funeral Home "within the last two weeks" to discuss strategy. "People saw them going in and told me about it. When you put those people together at the same time in that situation, isn't that kind of strange?"

McRae said he recalled talking with Davis and Sgt. Al White about a month ago at his family's funeral home but said the subject was not the chief.

"At least on one occasion, apparently about a month ago, I guess Chief Davis saw my car there and he and Al White stopped by there and yelled at me. We talked a little bit but then they went on.

"They just came in and said, "How you doing?"'

Told that council members may decide to look into the accusation, he said, "I hope they do." As for conspiracy, he said: "No. Uh-uh."

McRae, who is godfather of Davis' son, acknowledged his friendship with Davis but said he has always strived to keep police work separate.

Mayor David Fischer and Vice Mayor Kone said they wanted to know more about the meeting.

"I don't like the tone of it," said Fischer, who was vacationing in New York when he learned of the firing. "But to make a statement that they were hatching a plan, that doesn't have much credence. I assume they were discussing ways to make police programs work."

Kone said she did not know about the meeting, "and it disturbs me, quite a lot."

The City Council has hiring and firing powers over the city manager, but only the city manager can hire or fire a police chief.

Council member Edward Cole had expressed support for Curtsinger on Thursday, but said that if McRae "felt like (the firing) was in the best interest of the city I have to respect that."

_Times staff writers Mark Journey and David Ballingrud contributed to this report.