Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003

Curtis M. Shane, retired from the U.S. Park Police Association, tells NewsMax that chief Chambers has asked for additional support from the membership of that organization in the form of a “continuing a letter writing campaign to help her with her current status.”

“There appears to be no movement by DOI [the Department of the Interior, which oversees the Park Police] at this time,” says Shane.

Among those included as addressees in the letter-writing campaign are secretary of the Interior Gale Norton -- as well as others in the chain of command of the DOI, including the deputy secretary, the chief of staff, the assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, and the deputy assistant secretary for Law Enforcement.

Weeks ago, chief Chambers was asked publicly what it would take for the Park Police to handle stepped-up security on the National Mall monuments, and the chief said an expansion of her force from 620 to perhaps 1,400 and an $8 million increase in budget.

Since then, the first woman chief of the proud force that dates back to 1791 has remained technically on administrative leave and apparently waiting for the axe to fall. The official explanation thus far has been that Chambers had violated the management chain of command by publicly discussing internal budget matters and, in effect, publicly lobbying for more money and staff.

Meanwhile, local residents are complaining that the pulling of Park Police staff from outlying parks and parkway-patrolling duties has resulted in a resurgence of drug dealers and issues with the homeless. Park Police arrests are down, and traffic accidents on the federal parkways are up, according to media reports.

FOP Speaks Out

Another person who has agreed to talk to NewsMax despite the silence from most quarters is Jeff Capps, chairman, Fraternal Order of Police, U.S. Park Police.

Capps told NewsMax not to assume that his willingness to come to the defense of Chambers indicated any “love fest with the management team, as I have had issues with them all at one point or the other. Despite our huge differences at times the one common factor was we wanted to turn the USPP in a positive direction. Still, today there are those who take every opportunity to slow the process of change and push forward nothing more that the typical ‘good old boy’ network.”

The FOP chairman told NewsMax that before Chambers arrived on the scene, things had gotten pretty grim. “Just two years ago, we were using five-part snap-sets of carbon paper in standard typewriters; we had outmoded equipment on our cruisers, including a 1994-vintage Chevy; and some communication gear that featured vacuum tubes.”

Budget Up

But in a recent press release, deputy chief Ben Holmes, now acting chief, pointed out, “Over the past eight years, the USPP operational budget has increased by 55 percent, adjusted for inflation. In FY 1998 and 1999 funding over $20 million supported a new helicopter and hanger and the rehabilitation of the Anacostia facilities. In FY 2003, an additional $13 million was provided to double the number of annual recruit classes and to accommodate heightened security needs.”

Some of those heightened security needs are significant, including the post-9/11 bolstering of security at nearly all of the 388 National Park Service sites across the Nation.

Meanwhile, according to Capps, the uncertain status of chief Chambers has given new life to some old charges of nepotism that Capps refers to as “the rumor mill.”

“It is interesting these stories have come to life again. I was approached over and over again about these same stories. I have used every asset at my disposal to look into this -- as it was a large concern for my membership.”

Capps was adamant that a source cited to him by NewsMax was basically off-base as to any potential inquiry regarding Chambers going beyond rule-bending lobbying and focusing as well on her management team: deputy chief Barry Beam, deputy chief Dwight Pettiford, and special assistant Pamela Blythe.

Chambers, 46, was appointed in February 2002. She had been police chief in Durham, N.C., for four years. She was also a high-ranking official in the Prince George’s County, Md. police department.

According to one NewsMax source, who asked to remain anonymous, chief Chambers’ potential issues went beyond her public comments and turn as well on what could be interpreted as episodes of nepotism involving appointment of key personnel with reputed problems of credentials and inappropriate experience.

But Capps explained to NewsMax that this was old ground and had been settled some time ago:

“These members of the executive command staff were not appointed. They applied as part of a competitive process that was administered by the National Park Service personnel unit – not the United States Park Police. (All employees hired at GS-14 level or above are processed through the NPS WASO personnel unit.) These individuals competed against other applicants. Nepotism does not apply. None of the executive command staff members are related to the chief in any way.”

Ill Will Ill Founded

Capps also disputed the source’s contention that ill will in the agency was engendered by Pettiford’s daughter securing a job with the department and by Blythe’s daughter being awarded the first paid college internship with the department this past summer:

“Numerous family members of National Park Service and United States Park Police employees have been hired during summer employment programs. These individuals must apply and then be selected for their positions. In such cases, the family member cannot work in the same unit as the family member and the selection is not made or influenced by the family member. The Pettiford hired by the United States Park Police is no relation whatsoever to Deputy Chief Pettiford. Ms. Blyth’s daughter is not the first person to be awarded a paid college internship; in fact she was hired under the summer college employee program, not under an internship program. Dozens of others have been hired under this same program.”

Meanwhile, reputed resurfacing rumor mills aside, the idea that the chief could be axed for simply speaking her mind is troubling to some, including, Rep. James P. Moran Jr., D-Va., who sits on the appropriations subcommittee that approves funds for the Park Service:

“I think it sends exactly the wrong message. I think that’s part of their purpose, to send a message to managers that ‘you keep your mouth shut and your thoughts to yourself.’”

Even Park Service spokesman David Barna admitted recently that the agency was not actually sure if Chambers broke any federal laws -- although there are in place federal regulations: one barring public comment about ongoing budget discussions, the other prohibiting lobbying by someone in her position.

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