CPD changes interoffice relationship policy

Two CPD members were recently promoted to new positions.

By Allison Prang

Published Jan. 21, 2011

Following the retirement of Columbia Police Department Deputy Chief Tom Dresner and the “lateral reassignment” of spokeswoman Jessie Haden, the department instated a new policy requiring all inter-department relationships involving a difference in rank to be reported to a supervisor.

“That way the supervisor can be transferred out of the chain of command of the person they are in a relationship with, and no appearance of favoritism can take place,” CPD spokeswoman Jill Wieneke said.

Wieneke said it is not that relationships are not allowed, but if there is a supervisory element to the relationship, it is required that it be reported to a supervisor.

CPD used to abide by the city’s policy that does not allow direct family members to be supervised by one another. Police Chief Ken Burton developed a policy specifically for CPD after Dresner’s resignation.

“There was no policy violation in that instance, so that’s why there was no punishment,” Wieneke said.

Burton makes the final decision on policies sometimes with input from the command staff.

“Our policy manual is currently being revised so it is not ‘in writing’ yet but most likely will be when it is complete,” she said.

If anyone violates the new policy, administrative discipline, which can be anything from counseling to a written reprimand to a suspension of termination, could be involved.

“Discipline is ultimately up to the Chief, but each person in the violator’s chain of command would make a recommendation to the Chief,” she said. “Basically the policy was a product of this situation.”

Wieneke said in an e-mail that she doubts Haden’s job will be filled before March 1.

Since Haden’s reassignment, Wieneke said she has been trying to keep organized to manage being CPD’s only spokesperson, though it was easier with Haden to divide up the workload.

In addition to looking for a second spokesperson, Burton promoted Sergeant Chris Kelley to Lieutenant and Captain Stephen Monticelli to Deputy Chief, according to a Jan. 14 news release.

Kelley said in an e-mail he started with CPD in May 1987 when he was in charge of CPD’s youth police cadet program for youth interested in law enforcement. After Kelley graduated from high school in May 1990, he was offered a job as a community service aide. Kelley was promoted to an officer in January 1998 and to a sergeant in April 2008.

“In my new position I am assigned to supervise four police sergeants and I am accountable for the southeast police sector of the city,” Kelley said in an e-mail. “I am accountable to the citizens or customers in this sector. I am accountable for problem solving on crime and quality of life issues in this sector also.”

Monticelli, who said he has been at CPD for more than almost 19 years, was initially an investigative commander and before that ran major crime investigations, including narcotics.

“One of the goals of mine would be to make the organization as effective as it can be,” Monticelli said.

Monticelli said he wants to work with the chief and help make CPD reach its highest quality.