10:00 PM PDT on Monday, October 6, 2008
San Bernardino City Council members narrowly approved a promotion by the city's embattled police chief Monday.
Council members voted 4-3, with Esther Estrada, Rikke Van Johnson and Wendy McCammack dissenting, to approve Chief Mike Billdt's recommendation and promote Lt. Brian Boom to captain.
The decision follows a police union vote of no confidence against the chief. Union officials accuse him of misusing department discipline to harass critics and reward supporters. Billdt announced recently that he will retire when his contract expires in March.
Before the vote, McCammack said she had been troubled by testimony at a closed personnel meeting to discuss the promotion.
"There are a lot of allegations out there related to police management," McCammack said.
But Councilman Dennis Baxter said he didn't hear anything Monday to change his belief that Boom deserves the job.
"I felt like he was being railroaded by the very people he paid his union dues to for many, many years," Baxter said.
The union argued against the promotion, saying Billdt should not be allowed to choose top department administrators when he is leaving soon.
Council members had delayed action on Boom's promotion last month after McCammack expressed concerns over his leadership in his previous assignment.
Boom supervised Sgt. Bradley Lawrence, a narcotics squad supervisor accused by another sergeant in July of arresting suspects without probable cause. Lawrence was placed on administrative leave six weeks later, after unrelated allegations that he also supervised an improper narcotics search.
Police Sgt. Mike Desrochers, who accused Lawrence in July of trying to jail suspects without charge, voiced dismay at the council vote.
"After I told them what happened, now I'm under investigation," Desrochers said. "This corruption just continues at this Police Department."
Reach Chris Richard at 909-806-3076 or crichard@PE.com
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