Friday, May 22, 2009, 9:08 AM
Opinion
By Stephanie Ramage
SHAME ON MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN AND THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Let’s talk about what Atlanta Police Department Sgt. Scott Kreher said.
All of it.
Not the incomplete quote published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Not the sound bite being circulated by Mayor Shirley Franklin with so much false alarm.
I was at that meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, May 20. I took notes while the Atlanta City Council grilled Sgt. Kreher for two hours. He answered all of their questions and dispatched their every accusation and excuse. But when it came to the five officers disabled in the line of duty who I wrote about for our May 17th edition in the story “Badges, Bullets, and Broken Promises,” Kreher lost his temper.
I can’t blame him. While I worked on that story, I often broke down in tears. I spent time with those officers. I heard their stories. You can read about them at http://www.sundaypaper.com/More/Archives/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4062/Badges-bullets-and-broken-promises.aspx
Unlike all those who are now screaming about how uncivil it was for Kreher to say that when he thought about Franklin’s treatment of those officers it made him want to take a baseball bat to her head, I know what prompted his anger, because I felt it, too. If you had seen what I saw, if you had sat in the room with these cops who cried over the shame of being hidden away, ignored and intentionally denied the medical care they need by Mayor Shirley Franklin, you would be mad as hell, too.
The city holds highly-publicized memorial ceremonies for cops who are killed in the line of duty. Yet, Franklin hides those who are disabled in the line of duty because she doesn’t want the world to know what her administration has done to them. Her message is clear: She prefers dead cops to disabled cops.
Franklin’s administration repeatedly refused to fix the injured police officers’ wheelchairs. Franklin’s administration dangerously delayed approving the oxygen Detective J.J. Biello needed because he has 20 percent lung capacity after being shot in the lung during a scuffle where he protected restaurant workers from a robber. Franklin’s administration refused to pay for the migraine prevention medication that Officer Patricia Cocciolone has had to take since she was shot in the head at point blank range by the guy who murdered her police partner. Franklin’s administration cancelled the CT scan of Sgt. Ryan Phinney delaying removal of his kidney stones so that he endured four days of terrible pain, until he finally resorted to an emergency room. Franklin’s administration finessed a van deal for Detective Richard Williams—without his input—and it turns out the van was used and merely jerry-rigged for someone with a wheelchair so it had improper ventilation, so Williams, who was shot by a juvenile criminal 22 years ago and has been paralyzed ever since, wound up with pneumonia caused by exposure. Detective Bob Buffington, who is paralyzed like Williams, Biello, and Phinney, needs special support hose to prevent phlebitis and edema. The city refuses to pay for them, though Buffington took a bullet for the city in its war against drug thugs.
And Franklin has known about them for years and has done absolutely nothing to rectify her administration’s treatment of them. She has so far refused to meet with them.
I published the story about them on May 17, within a couple of weeks of when I was tipped off about it. Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tim Eberly was given the story by some of the cops involved in January—and he never wrote a word about it. Not one syllable about what Shirley Franklin did to these officers. Instead, Eberly produced a puff-piece in the AJC about how Cocciolone is planning to write a book. It appeared April 27 in the paper’s “Where Are They Now?” column.
And then, after Sgt. Kreher had the courage to stand up for his officers in that City Council meeting and take the heat for two hours, enumerating carefully and articulately all the problems in the APD and how the Council can help alleviate them, AJC reporter Eric Sturgis produced a 150-word piece solely about the baseball bat remark.
Why hasn’t the AJC reported on the disabled officers? Why did their reporter sit for several months on the notes the injured officers and their advocates gave him and then publish only the snippet about the baseball bat? What does the AJC have against cops? What does it hope to gain from Shirley Franklin? Why does the AJC continue to conduct itself as if it is the public relations department for Mayor Shirley Franklin?
What Franklin has done is tantamount to criminal neglect of these officers. What she has done—not said, because she will not even talk about these officers—what she has done is far more shameful than any baseball bat comment.
Kreher has apologized for the comment, and I think that’s appropriate. But his apology doesn’t in anyway mitigate the truth of the situation that prompted his anger and frustration: Franklin has known about these officers and the disgraceful treatment by her administration’s risk management officer for years and she has done nothing to fix the problem.
And the AJC has had her back. Its reporter deep-sixed the story that would have reflected negatively on her, and then the AJC neglected to report the context regarding those disabled officers when it reported on Sgt. Kreher’s baseball bat remark. What’s going on with the AJC and Shirley Franklin?
After the AJC tapped the mayor’s office for a response to an out-of-context remark, a patently unethical thing to do, as any journalism professor will tell you, and the story was picked up by the Associated Press so Kreher could be dragged through the mud nationally, the AJC finally assigned another reporter, Mike Morris, to talk with Kreher about the real issue: the city’s treatment of the officers’ workers comp claims. Morris did a fine job of clearly and cleanly writing about the technical aspects of the situation—but the AJC had already done its damage to a great police officer and a man who truly cares about his fellow cops.
This morning the AJC finally published a comment from an injured officer supporting Kreher. But you can see even more of that support on my blog entry yesterday from Sgt. Ryan Phinney. I also know that the AJC has Bill Torpy, who is probably the best reporter and writer in Atlanta, working on a story about the disabled cops and their workers comp claims right now for its Sunday edition. That’s great. But the damage has been done.
That is the awesome and sometimes unfortunate power of the press. If reporters and editors do not conduct themselves ethically, if they bury stories that do not reflect well on their pet politicians as the AJC buried the disabled cops story and its implications for Mayor Franklin for five months, if they quote people out of context, and devote only 150 words to a two-hour round of question and answers between the City Council and the police and spend all 150 words on one comment, they can destroy a man, they can provide cover for bad politicians, they can diminish the validity of the claims of police officers who have been paralyzed for the rest of their lives because they took the fall for the citizens of Atlanta.
But then again, it was the AJC that took the side of Franklin against the citizens of the city when they began decrying the rise in crime in their neighborhoods last fall.
I don’t wonder anymore why the AJC has lost so many readers. No redesign in the world can save a paper that has its heart in the wrong place and its head co-opted by City Hall. I also no longer care about the people who refer to my paper as a second rate rag. This second rate rag had the testicular fortitude to run with a story the AJC’s reporter wouldn’t touch.
Here is what Sgt. Kreher actually said: “And this latest fiasco with the disabled officers,” he said, “These five officers were injured in the line of duty…I want to beat her [Mayor Franklin] in the head with a baseball bat sometimes when I think about it. I cannot believe Mayor Franklin’s administration would allow this to happen. This administration should be ashamed of itself.”
It should. And the AJC, which has conducted itself so unethically, owes Kreher an apology.
Thank you, April.
Andre, how many times must we tell you to read a story before you comment on it? If you'd read the story "Badges, Bullets and Broken Promises," you would know there is a whole Q&A devoted to City Hall's response, so yes, I'd say I certainly reached out to the city for its side.
I know that Mayor Franklin has known about this for years because there has been quite a bit of correspondence between the officers and the city's legal department, and some of the officers, their attorneys, and the union have tried to appeal to Franklin directly. Some of their documents actually date back to 2004, although the officers say things have gotten much worse in the past couple of years.
I'm going to go have a weekend now.
--Stephanie Ramage
Stephanie
Friday, May 22, 2009 at 8:33 PM
Andre do your homework. It's obvious everyone else has done theirs and they aren't going to do it for you. If you want to remain in the dark for the rest of your life so be it. You have that right.
That reminds me.
I hail from Atlanta's undergound music scene. WAY underground if Zone 7 had it's way.
You guys are never going to force us into Underground to clean up the mess you made by the way.
I like the strip mall idea though, cause that's exactly what Buckhead needed. Another Mall. I bet all yalls hotels are screaming bloody murder right about now.
Who needs hotel revenue when you have all that High end shopping in this Economy. Great idea gang. Super. Now you guys don't even have a place to drown your sorrows.
Oh well I guess you could go to Mid Town...woops, my bad you turned that area into a suburb too, an empty one.
I hear Castleberry Hills is nice, better get there before Midnight though.
Oh Wait! I got it. Maybe you could go to Underground. Well you know that's not an option. You idiots completely ruined any chance of that succeeding when you lured all the Clubs into Underground with a false promise to extend the Bar Hours to 6am.
Shame on you Aaron Rents and Howard Shook.
Your area is now 100% devoid of culture and there is no getting it back. You guys will be long gone before anything resembling life returns. Enjoy your common, soul less piece of the city. Message received, I won't be returning.
For everyone else who has a pulse my boys who make up the laptop and guitar trio, Random Rabbit are playing over in Little 5. Come say hello, I'll buy you a brew. Cops welcome.
(no trolls)
Enjoy the weekend whatever you do.
(and yes I posted this twice. I'm a promoter, what do you expect)
Turner
Friday, May 22, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Andre - You're starting to sound incredulous. Maybe we're making some headway.
I once was like you and believed that the City (or any individual) could not possibly be that cruel, uncaring, deliberate or just down right stupid. But they are!! (It's tough to be in your 40's and realize the world isn't what you thought it was.)
A couple of the folks I've met that represent the City of Atlanta believe themselves to be down right omnipotent. I thought only GOD himself could pull that off. The truth is that there are those that work for the City that will blatanly screw people over for the momentary thrill (hollow thrill?) of building themselves up; at the cost of the quality of life that these officers MORE than earned the right to.
No, I don't work for the City of Atlanta and frankly (Shirley) if it was the last job on earth and was all that stood between me and losing my home; I would not sell my soul or debase my sense of integrity to make a paycheck.
I would love nothing more than to tell you my whole sordid story, my relationship to the City of Atlanta and the injured officers but out of respect (and certainly glee) for the process of Pandora's Box being FINALLY being opened I will refrain. Suffice it to say that because of my involvement with this process I have, myself, been screwed over by the City, which pales in comparision to these unsung hero's plight.
I am not being vague without cause. I don't wish to distract from the larger picture. These officers have risked their lives to make the world (Atlanta at the very least) a better place. Prudence dictates that I play a supporting role.
Believe me, I would love to spell it all out but now is not the time or the place. Let's wait until it all hits the fan. Which, Thank the Lord, will hopefully happen soon.
I'm chagrined that I can't give you the fodder you so clearly want but I'm not inclined to short circuit the process. Patience.
April
Friday, May 22, 2009 at 9:43 PM
My first letter sent directly to Shirley Franklin was in April 2007. That is over 2 years that she has known in excruciating detail what her "employees" have been doing. She didn't answer the letter. I did call her office also, in June 2007. I was referred to the Mayor's Committee on Handicapped Accessibility. They referred me to Risk Management. In short, they wanted me to talk to the person I was complaining about to voice my complaint about her. This was when I was alone, before making contact with the other officers.
Our complaint was hand-delivered to Jim Glass, CFO of the City of Atlanta. We asked for an investigation into Risk Management. Three weeks later, we were informed that their investigation consisted of contacting the people we were complaining about and asking them if they were doing something wrong. Mind you, no independent investigation done.
Imagine you call the police, and tell them the guy down the street burglarized your house. So, the cop drives down the street and asks him if he did it. He says he didn't do anything wrong. He doesn't deny taking your property, he just says what he did wasn't illegal. So, the cop comes back to you and says "sorry, can't help you."
Do you think you would be satisfied? Do you think you would believe the cop did his job?
If a cop is accused of excessive force, he is investigated. By Police Detectives, then Internal Affairs, then the Civilian Review Board, then the DA's Office, then the FBI, then the Justice Department, and then Federal Court. But I guess a police officer is the only City Employee that *can* be corrupt or criminal.
Quick lesson: In the State of Georgia, the State Board of Worker's Compensation is the *sole* remedy for an injured worker. I cannot file in Superior Court, or State Court, or Small Claims Court, or any other Court. I never have the option of a jury, all cases are decided by an Administrative Law Judge. The **only** remedy I can be awarded is the necessary medical relief I am entitled to under the law. No punitive damages, no monetary award, nothing but the medical care a doctor says is reasonable and necessary. I cannot even ask for a settlement, all I can be awarded is the specific medical relief I am entitled to at the time I appear at the Hearing. Pop quiz: why would anyone file in court unnecessarily when all they can receive is necessary medical relief?
It can take 2-3 months for a Hearing Date. The first setting is automatically continued when either party requests it. So, that's 4-6 months for a judge to Hear my appeal for medical relief. Do you think that is fast enough to deal with *every* medical problem I may encounter after 20 years being paralyzed? Or I can wait until every medical problem is an "emergency" and visit the hospital, but how long until one of those "emergencies" kills me because treatment was begun too late?
Remember Christopher Reeves? He was paralyzed, and he got a pressure sore. It got infected. The infection spread to his blood, and only then was it an "emergency" medical condition. They started medical treatment. He died from a systemic infection. Look it up on the Internet.
Keep in mind, the Mayor has known *personally* about my problems for over two years now, and she is still "looking into the situation." She has stated that she feels threatened for her safety because of Sgt. Kreler's words, yet how do you think I feel due to the *actions*, or entire lack thereof, of her and her employees? I have personally been injured to greater extent due to the lack of medical care. I have the scars on my body from those injuries, and my future health will be *forever* compromised by those injuries. And she knew personally, and I know she did because I told her in my letter to her, and further, letters to the City Council. No, Sgt. Kreler didn't know how often we, individually, have tried to resolve these problems. Like many, he assumed there was an honest mistake that would quickly be corrected when he informed them. And then, he realized it wasn't a mistake, they were doing it, knew what they were doing, and fully intended to keep on doing it regardless of the effects we have already experienced and will continue to experience. It is only a matter of time until one of us dies because we didn't get treatment on time. And, I suppose, she'll say some pretty words at yet another Memorial Service...
Dial 911, and someone will answer. And someone will come. It will most likely be a cop. Call and say your toilet is overflowing, and they'll send a cop. Say your kitten is missing, and they'll send a cop. Say you're lonely and desperate, and they will send a cop. We always answer the call, and we always show up.
She still won't even acknowledge our existence.
When I am in trouble, when I need help, I call the Mayor. No answer, no response, no acknowledgment. But then, I'm not dead yet...
Ryan
Friday, May 22, 2009 at 11:19 PM
By the way, when I called for help and the Mayor ignored it, who answered the call?
Sgt. Michael Scott Kreher.
Maybe you could say I am a little biased in my judgment. Shirley Franklin ignored my pleas for help for over two years. Sgt. Kreher answered my call in one day. She has done nothing to help me. He has done everything in his power to help me.
The Mayor says "no context justifies violence." I guess she has lived a very privileged life, because I have certainly responded in violence when my life was threatened. I have done so when someone else's life was threatened. In fact, that's why the Atlanta Police Department issues handguns and nightsticks. In fact, I imagine there are quite a few soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq right now that would be surprised to find their actions "unjustified" by Mayor Shirley Franklin.
And yes, I *do* feel threatened. I feel intimidated. For the last three years, I have lived in fear. I still am.
Sgt. Kreher answered our call for help. Stephanie Ramage heard our pleas and lent her voice to our call, in this "little rag" when other reporters found more important stories to write.
Because of them, now you are learning what your political representatives are really like under the prepared presentations and staged photo ops.
What would it cost the City to treat us like human beings? What will it cost the City for having treated us like human refuse? What will happen to this City if those of us willing to serve it suddenly stop answering the calls?
Shirley will probably be back in Philadelphia. At least, there is the hope that she will be, but what carnage will she leave behind in her wake?
She spent $30 million on her Brand Atlanta Campaign. She got to make public appearances, and publicize herself. And all it cost was the safety and security of the citizens of Atlanta, and maybe the physical comfort and medical health of a few broken cops. I guess it was a bargain she was more than willing to buy.
Ryan
Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 12:18 AM
@April, thst's s pretty lame excuse.
@Sgt, thanks for the explanation. It's pretty clear the admin, Shirley, and the city council are wrong for not responding. BTW, you made a previous post that made reference to Shirley losing her security detail. It sounded like you thought she may be in danger if she stayed in Atl. And you wonder why she's taking Kreher's comments so serious.
@ Turner, your "troll" and uneducated comments are getting old. I don't have to agree with everything you and everybody else on here says. I thought we were done with the name calling?
Andre
Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 9:42 AM
When her term ends, so does her right to a security detail. Former mayors, unlike US Presidents, do not retain special protection privileges for life.
As to whether or not she is in danger at that time, well, no more danger than any other citizen living in Atlanta right now. I guess it is a matter of perception as to just how safe *any* citizen is with the state of Public Safety currently. I suppose quite a few Atlantans don't feel that safe in their own city these days.
I have heard her statement regarding her need to "investigate the situation further." I do not believe she has any intention of helping any of us. Perhaps an asnwer will come from another source, as I and the other injured officers are all awaiting pending Hearings before the State Board of Worker's Compensation. After those Hearing, she may not have any choice but to change the situation for the better for us. If she cannot bring herself to do it voluntarily, then perhaps she can manage when a Judge compels her to do so. I have been waiting several years, and I will wait as long as necessary. You see, I do not have a choice. If I die before the situation can be changed, then perhaps that will be sufficient impetus to change it for my fellow officers. That would be a reason worthy of my death.
Ryan
Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 5:58 PM
Once you make the loop you will wind up here. For those of you looking for the Original article that the AJC flung out there go here:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2009/05/21/council0521.html
Just in case it winds up falling off the map here is the text of the story titled:
"Kreher: ‘I want to beat’ mayor in head"
Atlanta police union leader’s comments on compensation draw ire.
By [none other than] Eric Stirgus
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The leader of Atlanta’s police union said he felt like clubbing Mayor Shirley Franklin with a baseball bat over the difficulty some officers are having getting workers compensation from the city.
“I want to beat [Franklin] in the head with a baseball bat sometimes when I think about it,” an angry and frustrated Atlanta police Sgt. Scott Kreher told City Council members Wednesday.
Kreher’s comments came during a budget hearing.
The mayor was out of town Wednesday. Asked for comment, the mayor’s office released a statement calling Kreher’s remarks deplorable.
“It is irresponsible for a member of the Atlanta Police Department to make such a reprehensible comment about the mayor,” Franklin’s chief of staff, Greg Pridgeon, said in the statement. “The mayor has tremendous respect for the men and women of the Police Department … we can respectfully agree to disagree but his comments today were inappropriate, inflammatory and disrespectful.”
=======================
I think somebody else needs to be worrying about their credibility and job.
Turner
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 9:27 PM