"Thank or Spank": The Report thanks Commissioners Miles Atkins, Mac Herring and Acting Police Chief Carl Robbins

In 1804, Thomas Jefferson stated that “freedom of the press” is the most effectual means to leave open “all the avenues of truth” to mankind.

“It is therefore the first shut up by those who fear the investigations of their actions,” he said.

Jefferson stated in 1823: “The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.”

Throughout the past several years in Mooresville, when the press has moved on something, the government has dug in its heels. Despite the fact that the government has been unable to refute any of the provided facts – despite the fact that the press has ultimately been proven right, time and time again – the issue has become more of a battle of wills … and less about the government getting off its duff and trying to see for itself whether the findings of the press are indeed valid or not.

That is, until the town’s most recent controversy.

While some commissioners have been content to drag their feet and wait for “the facts” (i.e. ignore the facts reported by the press) – and even one or two proposed the town should wait to act until a new town manager is in place – Commissioners Miles Atkins and Mac Herring decided from day one to roll up their sleeves and actually seek out the facts. Though most of their actions were outside of public view, the two men have worked tirelessly to fight for the truth in an effort to regain public trust. And in doing so, they facilitated in one month what has historically taken the town many months – and sometimes years – to accomplish.

On June 26, the Report was denied access to public records related to the Mooresville Police Department’s Cops for Kids program because the records were under lock-and-key in then-Police Chief John Crone’s office, and Crone was on vacation. The very next day, Atkins suggested that the town hire a locksmith to access the documents for the public. He also pointed to the need for a new town policy to prohibit public records being kept under lock-and-key in the future.

In the days that followed – before the Cops for Kids story broke in the Report and the Mooresville Tribune – Atkins e-mailed fellow commissioners and Town Attorney Steve Gambill, stating: “I wanted to express my concern about how this is playing out.” In regard to the Report’s planned visit to the police department to review the Cops for Kids files, Atkins suggested that the town attorney be on hand to supervise Crone’s pulling of the records and stated: “It has the potential to turn into a spectacle at the police dept. and create a public perception issue – no matter if the files are perfect.”

Atkins also e-mailed the town board and Interim Town Manager Erskine Smith the day before the July town board meeting, stating: “We will need to get to the bottom of this and make sure we get some answers and there is accountability.” Atkins also made clear his intent to pull the $20,000 that the town had previously approved for Cops for Kids “and not use taxpayer dollars” for the organization.

Commissioner Herring backed Atkins, expressing his concerns and confusion about Cops for Kids in an e-mail to fellow commissioners and town administrators on June 30: “Public accountability is an expectation and necessary to maintain public confidence. I think the public trust charges both (elected officials), such as ourselves, and the police department to being beyond reproach and of the highest ethical standards. Despite our own human shortcomings, we need to collectively live up to that standard.”

Herring continued to express his concerns that the town board’s refusal to be open with the public would be “a public relations nightmare” for the town. “I am afraid we are heading for a mud pit. Not good for public confidence …” Herring wrote.

Despite flippant responses from Smith and one or two other commissioners, Atkins and Herring remained resolute.

Responding to an e-mail from fellow commissioner Frank Rader sarcastically titled “Ready, Fire, Aim,” Atkins called Cops for Kids what members of the public were already coining it: “a personal slush fund for Chief Crone with virtually no (town) oversight…”

Days before the town would officially launch several investigations into the way Crone handled Cops for Kids, Atkins and Herring were questioning the police department’s reported handling of cash in the evidence room, and they were asking whether other funds were set up like Cops for Kids and whether all the Cops for Kids records had been moved to Town Hall.

The day of the July town board meeting, and apparently frustrated with the lack of communication and leadership from town administration, Atkins asked Smith: “What’s the plan?”

Mayor Bill Thunberg – who had spoken nary a word about Cops for Kids during the brewing controversy – responded: “We’ll add personnel to closed session.”

That night, after a lengthy closed session, the town placed Crone on paid leave and announced several investigations into the police chief’s Cops for Kids organization. The town directed all further questions about the matter to Gambill.

A few days later, Herring e-mailed a list of questions to Gambill. In that e-mail, Herring said he felt “betrayed” when reading the “conflicting statements” about Cops for Kids’ “organization and purpose.”

“I had read the website,” Herring said. “It had been posted for over a year. It was false and misleading, and perpetuated a public myth as to what CFK was really about.”

Herring called it “unacceptable” that Smith would support Crone’s statement that he had “no idea” about the content of the Cops for Kids website and how it was posted. “There must be accountability/oversight for such information,” Herring wrote. “Who do I, as a commissioner, hold accountable?”

Herring also expressed concern about Cops for Kids not being a 501(c)(3) charity. “People gave and submitted on their taxes,” Herring stated. “The misperception was widespread, but it persisted … no one knew the bulk of its funds were spent on travel expenses, as the press alleges. Again, who is accountable for allowing this public myth/misperception to be so pervasive in our community?”

Herring called “mysterious” the Secretary of State’s posting of Cops for Kids as a non-profit seven years after it was apparently formed as such. (See http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2008/07/seven-years-later-cops-for-kids-turns.html.) “I have never been much of a conspiracy theorist, but this has me wondering, almost as if someone locally has ties in Raleigh whose strings they were able to pull … Is there a local or state cover up of the facts on any level?

“Is there integrity in the custody of the records (all records, not just financial) from Mon. 6/30 when the press went through them until now?” Herring continued.

He also questioned if the law was broken when a deposit was made into the Cops for Kids bank account from the evidence room, and he asked specific questions about all the trips funded by Cops for Kids: “How were these trips justified?” he asked. “What was the benefit to our community? Was this a personal vacation fund?”

Referring to how the Cops for Kids mission statement was redefined to state that its purpose was not to help underprivileged children and families but “to foster better relationships between police and youth,” Herring said: “I am sure it did for those taking the trips!”

“Are Erskine Smith’s actions throughout all these concerns above reproach(?)” Herring asked. “Perception is his hands are tainted by this.”

The town board – thanks to the strong leadership of Atkins and Herring – acted swiftly to close the first chapter in the Cops for Kids saga. And had it not been for the lack of concern and leadership demonstrated by Smith, the chapter would have probably been closed even sooner.

The town board did what it needed to do. It moved when it needed to move and put town staff in charge of carrying out the investigations and audits. While some people are expressing frustration with how long it has taken for the investigations – including the audit and the inventory of the evidence room – to get underway, we must remember who is responsible for what.

Though Crone’s firing ended one chapter of the Cops for Kids story, several chapters are still being written. We will wait to see how the town board deals with them. But if past actions are any indication, we can rest assured that we have at least two commissioners steadily behind the wheel. They are responding to public outcry, they are asking the tough questions, and they are demanding accountability from the government on behalf of the people.

For exercising the ability to discern between fact and spin – for having the courage of their convictions – for standing in the light of truth rather than the shadow of doubtful colleagues – for being good, responsible stewards of the public’s trust – our hats are off to Commissioners Miles Atkins and Mac Herring.

We also commend Acting Police Chief Carl Robbins, who has served as a steady hand over the police department throughout the past month of uncertainty and unrest. As Mooresville Tribune Editor Dale Gowing wrote Friday in his online commentary: Robbins “is what we need right now to stabilize the police department.”

Over the past month, Robbins has proven himself worthy of being called “chief.” He has shown that he is responsive to the public. He has made clear his expectations of the Mooresville police officers, yet he has taken time to tell them how proud he is of them. He has almost single-handedly built up employee morale at a time when we would expect it to be at an all-time low; yet, he maintains that the police department staff deserves all the credit.

Robbins has led the police department with an unwavering steadfastness and fairness – all things that the public and officers expect, need and deserve from a police chief.

The Mooresville Police Department has withstood a month of utter turmoil, seemingly without flinching. During a time when the Town of Mooresville’s reputation is being battered and bruised because of the actions of its former chief, the police department, under Robbins’ leadership, has given us all something to be proud of.