Detroit Crime Lab at Brush Park is closed and looted!

[Carey]

Read Godbee's statement on Friday and the link below from todays Freep.
http://www.freep.com/article/2011052...text|FRONTPAGE

You can't make this stuff up.

RJK -- You hit the nail on the head. In Friday's paper Godbee promised to get to the bottom of the lab mess and vowed it would "never happen again." In Saturday's paper, he acknowledges that cleaning up the lab had been his responsibility.

That's truly incredible. Did he forget on Friday was his role had been, or did he fail to realize what a big story this would become? Given the way he entered the chief's job -- admitting he had had an affair with the same lieutenant who was Chief Evans' lover -- I would say Godbee has two strikes against him.

With Godbee looking like a jerk and his direct boss, Saul Green, quitting, there once again is a crisis of leadership in Detroit city government's most important department. And the drift in the DPD symbolizes the overall drift in the Bing administration. Did anyone catch Charlie LeDuff's column on the Fox 2 website that reported how Bing had a Ronald Reagan moment this week, when he said Norm White was his CFO, but Norm White is long gone?

Sad.

[canuck]

Looks like Godbee could be on paid leave soon... Plenty of time for fly fishing, barbequeing and shopping around for out of state employment.

[Fnemecek]

I disagreed with Lowell's statement yesterday, as well. He appeared to be saying that the MSP is actually the villain in this disgusting mess- a very far reach has to be made to implicate the MSP.
I just want to know how Chief Godbee continues to have Bing's confidence? He is starting to look like a real idiot.

When Warren Evans was chief, crime was continually going down. However, he rarely mentioned Mayor Bing in any of his comments to the news media and he was fired.

With Chief Godbee, crime is up but he rarely misses a chance to tell everyone how great Mayor Bing supposedly is and the Mayor continues to have faith in him.

It is clear to me at least that Mayor Bing's appointees are judged primarily on their skills at brown nosing. Actual proficiency at their assigned job is secondary at best.

[Yooper]

Whatever happened to the adults in the room thesis?
My old town is dead.
Fucking toast.
No adults left, and none in the wings.
The laughingstock of American Rightwingers is making my life he'll defending her.

[Roq]

Looks like Godbee could be on paid leave soon... Plenty of time for fly fishing, barbequeing and shopping around for out of state employment.

Then again, maybe not. From the Freep article:

Mayor Dave Bing, who fired Evans for reasons unrelated to the lab and appointed Godbee as chief, doesn't plan to discipline Godbee, mayoral spokeswoman Karen Dumas said.

[SWMAP]

The anonymous letter [[anonymous to us, but not to the 11th floor) written last March decries a mutual admiration society of Madame Mayor and Chief Godbee. Perhaps because Dumas is his champion, Godbee can continue. But also there isthe humiliation factor. Bing did no search after Evans. He appointed Godbee who was the third Chief during his tenure. If he cans him after a year- what will that look like?
Tuesday morning at 1300 Beaubien will be apocalyptic. SOMEONE will have to pay for this humiliation.

[lilpup]

At least Godbee took responsibility. That's more than has happened in the past with many, many city departmental screw-ups and is a step in the right direction.

[Lowell]

This thread was inadvertently closed. Sorry, it is again open for discussion and merged with the replacement thread.

[Lowell]

I disagreed with Lowell's statement yesterday, as well. He appeared to be saying that the MSP is actually the villain in this disgusting mess- a very far reach has to be made to implicate the MSP.
I just want to know how Chief Godbee continues to have Bing's confidence? He is starting to look like a real idiot.

I did not intend to call the MP was a villain. I only singled out that quote as typical of the finger pointing. However, because I expect more from them I do feel they bear some responsibility and that, as they were doing the close down, needed to be proactive to insure protection of the evidence.

[East Detroit]

At least Godbee took responsibility. That's more than has happened in the past with many, many city departmental screw-ups and is a step in the right direction.

I agree. That part was refreshingly surprising.

[Fnemecek]

I did not intend to call the MP was a villain. I only singled out that quote as typical of the finger pointing. However, because I expect more from them I do feel they bear some responsibility and that, as they were doing the close down, needed to be proactive to insure protection of the evidence.

Who is the "they" in this sentence?

MSP wasn't involved in the close down. Neither were the Wayne County Sheriff, the Canadian Mounties, Major League Baseball, nor the guys working the drive-thru at Taco Bell.

The Mayor of Detroit ordered the Detroit Police Department to close a facility that was wholly owned and entirely operated by the Detroit Police Department. DPD personnel were the only ones involved.

Since DPD personnel were the only people involved in this matter in any way, shape, or form, I don't get how anyone outside of DPD could be construed as somehow being involved. MSP made an unsolicited offer to help, one that they were not obligated to do. DPD declined said offer, which they were within their rights to do. However, the simple fact that someone offered to help and the offer was declined does not transfer one iota of responsibility to anyone outside of DPD.

[Fnemecek]

At least Godbee took responsibility. That's more than has happened in the past with many, many city departmental screw-ups and is a step in the right direction.

He took responsibility after it was reported that he was the individual charged with transferring everything from the old crime lab to DPD headquarters. We didn't learn that he was the individual responsible until a day after we learned that the crime lab was abandoned without evidence, equipment, and ammunition being secured.

When it was first reported, he had to have known that the didn't do his job. Did he take responsibility then?

No, he announced that he would be leading an investigation into what went wrong without disclosing the inherent conflict of interest or the obvious fact that investigation is moot because he already knew what went wrong.

[GOAT]

This whole month has been a month of records [[crappy weather et al.) so could it be that this is a new record low for Detroit?

Just when you think Detroit can't get low enough this crap happens. We really can't make this stuff up. It is absolutely mind boggling! Or in Detroit's case mind-numbing because it happens over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....

If it isn't Detroiters it is the city itself. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....

[Planner3357]

Planner lives just a few blocks away from me. There's a part of me that worries he's going to show up on my doorstep this weekend.

And a part of me that looks forward to it. [[I'll just have my brother/roommate answer the door for a few days.)

Fair enough, you got me.....guess I asked for that.....

Sounds like an epic time at the Techno fest..with my windows open I can dance for free...glow stick and all..

[grumpyoldlady]

I find it totally irresponsible that this info was put out there for any of the less than honorable folks in the area to read, and subsequently go load up on some free ammo and who knows what else.

[SWMAP]

Right after the reporter walked through , the freep called the DPD & alerted them. DPD responded & began to guard & remove. All before the story was published. So the irresponsible party is not the Free Press, by any means. Again, thank heaven for our newspapers- or none of this would have been uncovered, published and rectified.

[ejames01]

Actually, they could sell the ammo to lower the deficit.

I find it totally irresponsible that this info was put out there for any of the less than honorable folks in the area to read, and subsequently go load up on some free ammo and who knows what else.