ink we tried to be fair with all the commanders and all the sergeants," he said. "Anytime you do that there will be people who had plum assignments in the past who had to share assignments."
In Axtell's memo to human resources, he wrote:
-- Axtell began volunteering for Chris Coleman's mayoral campaign on his own time in 2005. He received several warnings from an assistant chief about not getting involved in politics.
"He could cite no violation of policy, but instead repeatedly reminded me that the chief was getting along very well with (then) Mayor (Randy) Kelly."
-- In 2005 and 2006, Axtell volunteered for another political campaign. The memo doesn't mention which campaign, but Axtell had supported retired St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney in his campaign against incumbent Bob Fletcher for Ramsey County sheriff.
On Nov. 11, 2006, four days after Fletcher defeated Finney, Axtell received an e-mail from Harrington, saying he was being reassigned.
-- While planning for last summer's Hmong Soccer Tournament, Axtell was responsible for scheduling officers to work paid, off-duty jobs at the event. Axtell noticed that Harrington was listed as working in a paid, off-duty capacity for the event's sponsor.
"Although it was unheard of for a St. Paul police chief (or other major city chiefs) to receive pay at such events, I didn't question this, but extended the offer to again include him on the schedule," Axtell wrote. "I sent him an e-mail with this offer, and in less than 40 minutes I had received an e-mail from another commander stating that the chief had reassigned him scheduling responsibility for this off-duty assignment."
-- Axtell applied for a senior commander position in January and didn't get it. In March, after "many consecutive years of the highest ratings" in performance reviews, Axtell was downgraded.
"Most recently, rumors have been circulated around the department that I am the target of an internal investigation regarding matters unknown to me. These latest rumors affirm my belief that Chief Harrington, if allowed to continue his retaliation, will hinder my ability to advance my career and permanently harm my reputation."
In Strickland's memo to human resources, he wrote:
-- Over the past three years, Strickland supported candidates for mayor, City Council and sheriff who opposed those Harrington and the police union supported.
-- In November 2006, Harrington sent Strickland an e-mail telling Strickland to place him on the off-duty officer payroll for the Hmong New Year celebration. Strickland did not as he felt it was unethical and a conflict of interest.
-- Strickland had been an acting commander and when he asked Harrington in August 2004 to make the position permanent, Harrington told him, "You know the (police) federation doesn't want me to promote you."
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES LAWSUIT
The St. Paul Police Federation served a lawsuit on the city Monday, though it hasn't yet been filed in court, the union's attorney said. It lists instances in which police management has, or is considering, giving officers' work to civilians.
The suit represents more than an internal battle between labor and management, Titus said.
When juvenile runaways are found, they used to be questioned by officers; now, that is done by clerical staff, the lawsuit alleges.
"This is an interview of what could be a victim or a suspect and police are specially trained for this," Titus said. "What if the ball gets dropped and it's the one opportunity for this kid to be saved?"
Harrington said the change is different than that described in the lawsuit. Clerical workers will be taking information from parents who report after business hours that their runaway child has returned home and officers will follow up on the case, Harrington said.
Harrington said there hadn't been a reduction in commanders or sergeants, but reassigning some work "allows us to put officers in additional investigative positions or patrol supervision."
Mara H. Gottfried covers St. Paul public safety. She can be reached at mgottfried@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5262.
