- It is my understanding that Sergeant Ritchie was acting independently here, on his own time and stating his own opinions. At no time did Sergeant Ritchie say or imply that his words represented official FWPD policy.
- While I do not believe that any information which Sergeant Ritchie shared with me would be considered as proprietary to FWPD, there was enough said to easily shatter Chief York’s delusional belief that Fort Wayne (and specifically my neighborhood) does not have a gang problem.
- It has come to my attention that Sergeant Ritchie has recently experienced a serious personal hardship which, in itself, would fully justify his decision to disengage from communicating with me further.
- The communication between Sergeant Ritchie and myself was considered by me and (I believe) by Sergeant Ritchie to be a personal dialogue between the two of us, and not something we would share with others. It is for that reason that I will be discussing our communications in a very vague manner, only stating what I feel is absolutely necessary in order to adequately inform this story.
- I think there is a good chance that the FWPD administration, who tries so hard to pretend they are not aware of this blog and it’s extremely critical appraisal of their performance, may be upset with Sergeant Ritchie for engaging me both in private and on the blog. If it should ever come to my attention that the department has reprimanded Sergeant Ritchie in any way for engaging in dialogue with me, I can assure Chief York that he will later regret that decision.
- Although I certainly did not agree with all of Sergeant Ritchie’s opinions, I believe his intentions were sincere. And, while it may not be apparent at this point, I can assure all that this small dose of courageous and honest interaction with a member of FWPD has greatly calmed my disposition towards the entire department.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sergeant Jim Ritchie - A Good Cop?
Before moving along with this story, I want to make a few points about the communication which Sergeant Ritchie and I engaged in during the past six months.
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I've known Jim for several years, he's an upstanding guy. I'm sorry to hear he has suffered a serious personal hardship, my prayers go out to him and his family.
ReplyDeletePhil:
ReplyDeleteI'm with King, even after ONLY knowing Sgt. Jim for less than a year.
I fully agree.
You get a "feel" for not only WHAT a person say but the MANNER (or perhaps "passion" is a better word) in which they express themselves.
And anyone that can give me plain old straight talk with NO "BS" or lip service along tthe way gets MY vote.
I'm glad that Jim has taken a few other officers "under his wing" as a mentor.
I only wish I had his "stamina" and diplomacy when to comes to dealing with the types of people he meets on our streets today, because it IS a far cry from decades ago.
To me, Jim leads by example...and that's good enough for me.
Stay safe.