Ethics & Leadership

What are ethics and why should we care?

My belief is that if you act ethically in your private life, then what you do in public will also be ethical in nature. It’s easy to act ethical when everyone is watching you, but the true test is what you do when nobody is watching you. I have listed several definitions of ethics which I think CERTAIN CITY OFFICIALS should review and put to the test within their own professions.

• a system of moral principles
• rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.
• moral principles, as of an individual
• that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions

The El Paso Municipal Police Officers Association is neither for nor against any of the numerous Quality of Life Projects that the City of El Paso is in the process of implementing. The new projects will force the City to increase our staffing to what it should be or what it was over 12 years ago. One good thing, which did come from the legal and political battle over the ball park, was the release of emails from elected and high ranking City Officials. It’s an eye opening three thousand pages of documents made up of emails that I think the City Manager and certain City Council members never thought in their wildest dreams would ever see the light of day. I know they never thought that the public or the people that the emails targeted would ever read them.

I have read all 3,000 plus documents, which took a few months, but was well worth it. So far that’s all the City has released but I am also waiting for additional private emails to be released which the City of El Paso has refused to do and are now suing the Texas Attorney General to keep them secret. I can only imagine what they will say after reading the ones that the City didn’t fight to hide!! I have attached all the emails that pertain to the Police Department or the Police Association because it’s an eye opener on what the City Manager thinks of us and our organization. The information is also important to you because they affect your profession. I will not address certain juvenile or unprofessional remarks or emails sent from certain City Council members because that is up to the voters to read and figure out if they want them reelected to office or not. My concern is the emails directed at us or about us from the City Manager who is not elected and works for us.

They are listed in PDF Documents with a title that represents what they are about or discussing within the email streams.

• Grants-This email stream is in regards to the Grant Overtime Investigation and has numerous emails from City Council members and City Manager.
• 911 Center-This email stream is trying to address our problems with the 911 Center and what PD needs from the center that is controlled by the EPFD and the new 911 District.
• Crime Rate Ball Park-This email stream shows how City Hall utilizes what we do and our low crime rate when they want to get what they want. Of course they could care less when it comes to pay and benefits.
• Prisoner Transport-This email stream addresses why they wanted prisoner transport, more officers on the streets.
• Consolidation-This email is City Councils push to consolidate us with the EPSO.
• Norma Chavez–This email stream shows that something did happen and explains what the EPPD did and the results of the investigation. Norma Chavez was correct about something going on but her facts were somewhat inaccurate. What I don’t like is when I asked Command Staff about the Westside Command being locked down even I received an answer that wasn’t very truthful.
• Civil Service Rule Change–This email stream shows just how far the City Manager will go to get what she wants and remove the rights from employees. I am not full of “Bullshit” (her words) and to request a meeting with a Council Member because an appointed Civil Service Commissioner does not agree will management is just wrong. Since he agrees with the employees he should be removed, is that what is being said!
• Wage Scale–This email stream is the City Manager trying to say that the union is wrong and she is correct. Sorry Joyce you and your staff made a 1.2 Million Dollar error that will cost you upwards of 3 Million to fix. Didn’t hear you saying sorry or trying to explain that one to City Council.
• Pension–This email is very disturbing because it attacks our pension and how the City Manager attempts to control or plays the Puppet Master when at City Council meetings. She is directing certain Elected City Council Members to ask certain questions and do certain things because she doesn’t agree with it.

All the documents are listed and all 3,000 can be read at, http://www.chucoleaks.org/, if you think I am over reacting. It is disturbing reading emails that are sent by a City Employee during City Council Meetings, directing certain council members on what to say and do during an open public meeting. One email was so bad the City Manager told a representative to say it was her idea and not to say it came from her. Please read some of them and make up your mind for yourself!

Ron Martin

EPMPOA President