Police Chief Chides Union for Neglecting Safety, Boycotting Colin Kaepernick

Cops submit their hours on their timesheets and then the department bills the team, if the cops filled their sheets out correctly.

K.C. Alfred/ZUMA Press/Newscom

The Santa Clara police union responded to comments made by now backup San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick that were critical of police by threatening to boycott work at the stadium. The police chief in Santa Clara, Michael Sellers, stepped in to try to defuse the situation.

"I will urge the (union) leadership to put the safety of our citizens first," Sellers said in a statement to USA Today. "I will work with both sides to find a solution. In the meantime, I will ensure we continue to provide a safe environment at Levi's Stadium."

Police officers working 49ers home games are paid overtime rates but are supposed to be paid by the team. This is not an unusual arrangement—as NinersNation.com notes, many stadium leases include clauses requiring some level of police protection, and in general, police officers around the country may take "side work" that is still billable as overtime.

In the case of Santa Clara police, the 49ers are supposed to pay for their protection, but due to mistakes made by police that is not always that case. In June, a civil grand jury in Santa Clara recommended the city investigate whether any taxpayer money was used on stadium operations (the referendum that green-lit the 49ers stadium in Santa Clara also prohibited taxpayer money from being used). A part of the problem Is that city officials, like police officers, are responsible for flagging their work at the stadium. They don't clock in with the 49ers but included time worked at the stadium on their official timesheets. If they don't correctly mark the time as having been spent at the stadium, the city doesn't know to bill the 49ers and pays the employees itself.

Police had been at odds with the NFL and over NFL players before. Police sued when the NFL banned guns in football stadiums and refused to carve out an exception for off-duty cops. And just in July, the police union in Cleveland threatened to stop working Cleveland Browns games because one player posted a photo of a cop being attacked. "I will pull Cleveland officers, sheriffs, state troopers out of First Energy Stadium this season if he doesn't make it right," police union head Stephen Loomis told TMZ, according to NBC Sports. "You're a grown-ass man, and you claim you were too emotional to know it was wrong? Think we'll accept your apology? Kiss my ass."

The NFL season starts tomorrow with the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos hosting the Carolina Panthers, who they defeated in Super Bowl 50. The 49ers' first home game is on Monday night, against the Los Angeles Rams. The Browns' first home game is the Sunday after that against the Baltimore Ravens, who used to be the old Cleveland Browns.

Comments

[AlmightyJB]

In other union chidding news.

http://hotair.com/archives/201.....m-damages/

[mad.casual]

Meanwhile...

The 65 people shot in Chicago over the Labor Day weekend included a woman nine months pregnant, shot in the abdomen; a pastor, shot in the face; an 80-year old man shot in the head; as well as several teenagers.

The best part is that the Union is rather blatantly saying, "that'll teach 'em!"

[mad.casual]

And the CPD Superintendent can only say things like, "I blame society, really."

[WTF]

Stadiums should be hiring private security anyway.

[Agammamon]

Wouldn't make a difference - their *lease agreements with the city* mandate hiring police officers. All hiring security would mean is the cops sit in the break room all day while security does all the work.

At least that's my experience with dual-security/police venues out here.

[Playa Manhattan.]

"Security" generally serves as access control. They say "you can't go this way". That's about it.

[Zeb]

"I will urge the (union) leadership to put the safety of our citizens first,"

Umm. You are the fucking police chief. Why aren't you ordering the police who are your subordinates to put the safety of citizens (and anyone else who happens to be around not committing any crimes) first?

[Hugh Akston]

He's only the boss when they're on the clock.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Yeah, I guess it's time for the 49ers to hire private security. Non union.

[Agammamon]

Because, like most unionized organizations, the nominal heads are only allowed authority for planning and operations and none for discipline.

Someone linked a Trey Gowdy video where a portion has him grilling the head of the DEA about why she can't discipline the cops nominally under her command.

[Fist of Etiquette]

We've entered the cold war on cops period of the struggle. Don't listen to the propaganda, everyone.

[Playa Manhattan.]

"If they don't correctly mark the time as having been spent at the stadium, the city doesn't know to bill the 49ers and pays the employees itself."

Non issue. If an employee makes that mistake, he's going to get his hourly instead of time and a half.

[Ed]

Not if the hours are already into OT

[Playa Manhattan.]

Dude, there are checks in place to prevent this. The NFL doesn't just pay the time and a half rate.. They pay an hourly "management fee" on top of it for each police employee. That fee is usually another 100% on top of the hourly.

It there's one thing the government is good at doing, it's collecting money.

[Ed]

yeah but not according to the Santa Clara grand jury

[Playa Manhattan.]

Having clicked through to the article, I stand corrected.

My city had the opposite problem. We overbill EVERYONE for police at special events.

[GILMORE?]

Hopefully they will all contract the Zika virus soon

[Swiss Servator]

*narrows gaze*

[The Last American Hero]

A lot of fucking drama over the antics of a back up QB, a back up DB, and a women's soccer player (apparently that's a real thing).

[Trshmnstr smells of Lo Mein]

Yup. I keep looking for a reason as to why I'm supposed to care about this shit, and each time I walk away disappointed.

[mad.casual]

Not to be too 'self-aggrandizing' but see above. I'm a little astounded that Chicago doesn't seem to make the news outside Chicago. The equivalent of ~1.25 pro football teams was shot this past weekend in Chicago while the FOP called for protest because the State is broke and Laquan McDonald.

Makes the whole stand/sit for the national anthem thing seem kinda inconsequential.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

"I will urge the (union) leadership to put the safety of our citizens first,"

The Union should have no say how policing is done. None. How did we get here?

[bassjoe]

I think there are several books on how we got here (or, at least, there fucking should be).

[R C Dean]

Why on earth would the union put the safety of citizens first? They don't pay dues.

[BYODB]

I was under the impression pretty much every college level American History class teaches you exactly how we got here...Union Terrorism.

[bassjoe]

"I will pull Cleveland officers, sheriffs, state troopers out of First Energy Stadium this season if he doesn't make it right," police union head Stephen Loomis told TMZ, according to NBC Sports. "You're a grown-ass man, and you claim you were too emotional to know it was wrong? Think we'll accept your apology? Kiss my ass."

What. The. Fuck?

Oh, this is the same city where cops shot a 12 year old without warning because he was holding a toy guy. Carry on.

[bassjoe]

*toy gun...

[kbolino]

Given how the police acted, it wouldn't have mattered. He could have had a toy cell phone. It was the alleged "furtive movement" over which he was shot, not the toy gun.

[bassjoe]

He was REALLY large for a pre-teen.

/police-suckers

[R C Dean]

It wasn't even the furtive movement. The kill was in when the cops got the call. Watch the video at full speed (not the slowed down one the cops released). The cops didn't have time to do anything but what they obviously set out to do: roll up on him and grease him. There wasn't time for orders/compliance, not even time to observe and react to a furtive movement.

[kbolino]

I don't think the cops intended to kill Tamir Rice when they responded to the call. I think they wanted to intimidate him, and when he didn't immediately go limp after they almost drove a car over him, they shat their pants and opened fire. It's all kinds of bad, but not premeditated murder. At least, not with the facts we have available. My point was more that they didn't even see a gun, real or otherwise, before they shot him.

[R C Dean]

That's probably fair, k. The full speed video leaves me with the impression that they rolled up on him and shot within maybe three seconds at the outside. They had to have their guns in hand, condition three, for that timing to work.

[Deep Lurker]

Don't you mean "condition one" or possibly "condition zero"?

My understanding is:
Condition three is magazine inserted, but no round in chamber.
Condition two is round in chamber, but hammer not cocked
Condition one is round in chamber, hammer cocked but safety on
Condition zero is round in chamber, hammer cocked, safety off - immediately ready to shoot.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Miller brought up the imaginary blue-on-blue crimes and added that police might be drinking, making it unsafe for them to have guns.

Huh. Imaginary?

Rowdy fans outside Seahawks games are hardly anything new to Seattle police.

But one officer's encounter Sunday with a reportedly unruly group has prompted an apology and an internal investigation by the Bellevue Police Department.

Bellevue police confirmed Tuesday the department has opened an investigation into an "altercation" involving three off-duty Bellevue officers who reportedly confronted a Seattle police officer outside CenturyLink Stadium before Sunday's game.

[bassjoe]

Way to go, Santa Clara cops! You somewhat managed to prove this twenty-something's point by being insolent thin-skinned assholes...

[John]

Why are the police providing security at a private event in the first place? Fuck the 49ers. They should be hiring their own private security. If there is a problem, they can certainly call the cops and the cops should respond. But I fail to see why the city owes a police presence and the expense associated with it to the 49ers. That is what private security is for.

So you may not agree with the reason they are doing this but if the result is the 49ers having to pay for their own security, you can't argue with the result.

[R C Dean]

At this point, they probably don't have a choice. Part of the deal for the stadium was to line the pockets of cops at time and a half while they watch the game in person.

Without the actual contracts in hand, I couldn't say if the team/stadium has any options at all. If not, then I would cancel the game if I were them, and say that your contract with the city requires you to do so if the city fails to provide security.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I would be stunned if there wasn't a contract clause requiring the team to use off-duty cops for security.

[Invisible Finger]

Exactly. It's the same-old pension scam. Team pays the overtime, but the money isn't as a second job, so the officer's revenue looks like it is all from city payroll which means the padded income increases the officer's pension.

In other words, it's one of the areas where the team is purposely NOT trying to rip off the taxpayers; instead, it's the police union demanding the taxpayers get ripped off.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

It's my understanding that the city isn't providing security, the Union is.

[Agammamon]

John, read the article. Read all the articles about this sort of thing.

The city is not paying for the cops. The city *demands* that the venue hire 'off-duty' police officers to provide security.

The 49'ers pay *the city* for the cops the city *mandates* they hire, the police pay the cops overtime rates and pocket the difference.

They *have* to hire LEO's. And once you've hired a bellyful of LEO's, what's the point of hiring regular security guards in addition?

[Radioactive]

...Fuck the 49ers...er, um... OK but only one at a time...

[Citizen X]

"You're a grown-ass man, and you claim you were too emotional to know it was wrong? Think we'll accept your apology? Kiss my ass."

This guy sounds like exactly the kind of calm, even-tempered person who should be given a gun and told to enforce the government's monopoly on violence.

[Juvenile Bluster]

This is the same asshole who said open carry should be banned during the RNC (and that he didn't care if it was unconstitutional), and that Tamir Rice deserved what he got because he was "menacing".

[Get To Da Chippah]

Yep. he's too shitty a person to even make good mulch out of.

[kbolino]

The funny thing is that what he said makes the perfect response to every cop who opened fire without fully assessing the situation first.

[Billy Bones]

It would seam to me that these SF cops aren't doing a very good job at security as it is, so what difference will it really make if they fail to show up.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.c.....n-beating/

I think the 49ers fans should have demanded an apology from the police union for hiring incompetent officers before allowing any of them back into the stadium.

[R C Dean]

Perhaps, if the PD doesn't have the authority to just order the cops to the stadium as their duty station, which apparently it doesn't have (and ponder that for a moment), the PD could adopt a policy that any cop who signs up for stadium duty and boycotts is ineligible for further stadium duty.

[Swiss Servator]

GRIEVANCE FILED!

[XM]

Crime, of course, has been going up in some big cities where BLM rhetoric has been particularly loud. Even those who questioned the "Ferguson effect" is now having second thoughts. The unhinged cop hate has not led to any reforms whatsoever and has cost more lives.

Dodger stadium was half empty on some nights after Brian Stow incident. Frank Mccourt was accused of not spending enough on security and was ran out of town. Whoever owns the 49ers probably isn't as incompetent as Mccourt, but if anything like that happens on the Levi's Stadium, well, I imagine middle class whites will have less incentive to go to 49ers game.

Why are Americans so enamored with a game that takes a little more skill than soccer to play? A guy catches a ball, holds onto it, and then runs to the endzone. Wow, what skill! No ball handling necessary! You can run out the clock and try to win on field goals, which is like the bastard child of the pk from soccer.

The spoiled NFL manboys won't have any of my money anytime soon.

[R C Dean]

The unhinged cop hate has not led to any reforms whatsoever and has cost more lives.

Well, nothing else was working, either. The people under the jackboot were out of options, other than (a) take it like a bitch or (b) take to the streets.

[Fred Zuccini]

Fuck the NFL and Fuck the union. Stay home.