JOHNSON
By William Moore
Daily Journal
VERONA – Citing allegations of micro-management by the board of aldermen, Verona Police Chief Bill Johnson turned in his badge and gun Thursday night.
“I left the ball in their court,” said Johnson. “I would love to go back Monday and continue getting the officers the equipment and training that they need to do their jobs.”
But that is not likely to happen. The mayor does not plan to reach out to Johnson.
“He resigned. I was surprised for certain,” said Verona Mayor Robert Trice. “There is no other action for the board to take. He resigned.”
During his two months on the job, Johnson said he butted heads with the board on a number of issues, including officer pay, staffing the department and who was responsible for hiring officers.
Johnson said the department is under-staffed and pays around $5,000 per month in overtime. When he attempted to hire additional officers, he was told that the board of aldermen did all the hiring and firing.
“I needed three officers just to fill out the shifts, but I was told by the Ward 3 Alderwoman that I may get one, two if I was lucky,” said Johnson. “I offered her the five candidates I had narrowed down, but she wanted all the applications.
“And when the board started to interview the applicants, they told me to leave the room. I couldn’t even sit in on the interview for my own officers.”
Johnson said one of the candidates the board wanted to hire could not pass a background check and would not be able to carry a firearm.
Ward 3 Alderwoman Jessie Gilmore refused comment Friday afternoon on Johnson’s allegations.
“He resigned,” said Gilmore. “That’s all I can say. I have no other comment.”
Johnson said he was also rebuffed when he asked for officer raises according to the city policy adopted by the board in 2011. He said he also felt resistance about hiring one officer to collect $570,000 in outstanding fines.
“When I brought it up to the board, they said we wouldn’t get all that money,” said Johnson. “And it’s true, the state gets some of that, but the city would still get enough to more than offset the officer’s salary.”
When the board attempted to reprimand Johnson for allegedly being disrespectful to a board member, he had enough.
“Now I see why I am the seventh chief in the last 11 years,” said Johnson. “I told them if they wanted a puppet, they needed to find someone else. I laid my badge and gun on the table and walked out.”
