Consent of the Governed Ch. 01

7:15pm, Tuesday, October 13th. I walked down the steps of the Public Council Chamber to the floor in front of the curved bench behind which the Council Members sat. Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle was already there. We were both wearing armor over our light blue Police uniform shirts.

"Good evening, sir." Teresa said. "No disrespect, sir, but I thought you were going to be here a little earlier."

"I planned to be," I replied, "but Carole started telling me and Laura that something was wrong, that we were both in danger. Laura doesn't believe Carole's vibes, so when Carole can't define the danger, Laura rebukes her for saying anything out loud. That gets Carole's hackles up that she's not being believed, and she starts throwing a fit, which gets her in even more trouble with her mother that demands a disciplined, well-behaved daughter."

"Sounds like Cassandra in ancient Troy." Teresa said. "She was given the power of prophecy, but also the curse that no one believed her. That didn't go over very well when she prognosticated the fall of Troy to the Greeks. So, do you believe Carole?"

"In a word, yes." I replied. "I don't have her nor Cindy's power of the Vibe, but I've been feeling that something's wrong, also. And that's one reason I'm wearing this armor tonight, instead of a Duty Dress jacket for the Executive Session later on tonight. So, how does the audience for tonight's Council meeting look?"

"Unexceptional." Teresa replied. "I really thought we'd have more 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Black Voices Raised' people show up, since they're going to talk about Police promotions. Maybe they're marshaling their forces for the Assembly meeting Thursday."

"Could well be." I said. "Could well be. Are you prepped for security for that?"

"Yes sir." said Teresa.

"Good." I said. "There's one extra thing I want you to be ready to do. You know I don't like our SWAT doing crowd control, but in this case we might need them..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 7:30pm the Council Members filed into the Chamber and took their places at the long, curved bench. Mayor Daniel Allgood gaveled the meeting into session and called for the routine things like lawsuits to be submitted. Then he asked for Old Business; there was none. Then he asked for New Business, and J.P. Goldman introduced the Police promotions package, with Edward R. Steele seconding. The discussion was deferred to the Executive Session that would occur at the end of the public meeting.

And that was not long in coming. When the Mayor asked for persons to address the Council, there were only two persons that approached. One woman, who was young and black, asked what the security measures at the polling places were currently, and would be on Election Day. The Mayor replied that the Public Safety Department was in charge of those arrangements, and that questions regarding that should be referred to the Sheriff's Office.

The second person to stand up was a young white man with poor hygiene, wearing a green Environmentalist shirt. He demanded that the Council order the resignation of Sheriff Griswold for making dishonest comments about gubernatorial candidate Hoyt Stenson. Kelly Carnes made a motion condemning Sheriff Griswold for his accusation that Hoyt Stenson was suffering from the beginnings of Dementia, and Sheila Sorrells seconded it.

J.P. Goldman then addressed the man speaking. "I would like to ask you, young man, if you will join with me in asking that proof be obtained of Mr. Stenson's mental condition. Will you join me in publicly asking Mr. Stenson to take a cognitive test, so that the validity or lack of validity of the Sheriff's comments can be ascertained?"

"Hoyt Stenson is a great man and a champion of Climate Change!" the man said, his voice getting shriller and more towards yelling. "It is Sheriff Griswold who has lied, and I demand this Council act to remove Griswold from office!"

"So you don't care about getting to the truth of Mr. Stenson's condition." said J.P. Goldman. "And I guess you don't care about the Science, that shows that Climate Change is a fraud."

"The Science is settled!" the man started yelling. "Climate Change is real, and the greatest threat to mankind! Climate Deniers like you are criminals that are destroying our Earth------" He suddenly stopped yelling when he saw a female Police Officer known for having a bad attitude approaching him. "What, you gonna kick me out for telling the truth?"

"Keep your voice civil, or yeah, I'll throw your ass into a paddywagon, and you can tell the inmates at County Jail all about the dangers of Climate Change." Teresa replied.

To her dismay, the man said "Best you heed the Science! You will not be forgiven for ignoring the peril of Climate Change!" Then he stalked off and out the Chamber, not sticking around to watch Carnes's motion fall in flames, 5-5, with the Mayor declining to vote 'Yea', effectively killing the it...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Everyone took their seats in the Private Council Chamber. Besides the Council Members, Sheriff Griswold, Chief of Staff Oswald, Police Chief Moynahan, Me, and the Sergeant-At-Arms were in the room, sitting in chairs against the left side wall.

"As usual," said Mayor Allgood as he gaveled the Executive Session into order, "we can do this one of two ways: everyone can act civil, and we can have a relatively free and open discussion; or someone will start acting like one of those green-shirted environmentalist wackos, and we'll move forward under the strictest possible rules of debate."

Even Kelly Carnes did not rise to the bait, as that wacko slug had when J.P. Goldman had so easily triggered him. However, she did raise her hand, and upon being recognized said "Why is Police Commander Donald Troy in this meeting? He has no bearing on this."

"He's here for two reasons." replied Edward R. Steele with alacrity. "First, he definitely has bearing on the Captain of Detectives selection. And second, because I invited him to be here."

"And I heartily approve of Commander Troy's presence at this meeting." added Mayor Allgood. "Okay, Mr. Goldman, the floor is yours."

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor." said J.P. Goldman. "The Public Safety Department has submitted a package of three interrelated personnel actions to us, two hirings and one promotion. The promotion is that of Captain Tanya Perlman Muscone to Deputy Police Chief. The hirings are for hiring the retiring Deputy Police Chief, Cindy Ross, to Sheriff Department Chief of Staff, replacing the retiring Chief of Staff, Charles T. Oswald; and hiring LAPD Lieutenant Claire Michaels as TCPD Captain of Detectives. I move that we approve these hires and promotion."

"I second that motion." said John Colby in his baritone voice that belied his short, slender stature.

"Procedural point of order." said Susan Weston. "For various reasons, I believe we should consider each action separately. For example, I have nothing against Claire Michaels, as I remember the excellent job she did as a TCPD Detective some years ago. But the Captain of Detectives position is not vacant, and I will be doing everything in my power to prevent the promotion of Tanya Muscone to the Deputy Chief position."

"Why?" asked John Colby.

"I believe Muscone is unqualified for the Deputy Chief position." said Weston. "She has been a failure as Captain of Detectives. She can't even go to many crime scenes, being a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. She has bad relationships with some of her subordinates, and some of my constituents tell me she has taken the FBI's side over the TCPD's. Yes, her husband is an FBI Agent, but in my opinion that makes things all the worse. Not to be religious, but the Bible says that no man can serve two masters, and I'm not clear on which one Captain Muscone is serving."

Sheila Sorrells said "I'm not necessarily against any of these actions. But I believe there is one situation that has not been fully resolved yet, and that is the disciplinary action against Deputy Chief Ross------"

"That's been fully resolved!" Chief Griswold exclaimed, one of the very few times I'd ever seen him lose control. "The matter was handled internally and is closed!"

Five persons yelled "Point of order!", those being the five Democrats at the table.

"Noted. Please ask to be recognized, Sheriff." replied the Mayor. "But the Sheriff did make a good point, which I'll officially make on his behalf. Discipline within the Public Safety Department has almost always been handled internally, and rarely ever reaches us, and there's no reason this should be an exception."

"Even so," said Kelly Carnes, who had not raised her hand to be recognized, but was not stopped, "if you want us to consider voting for Commander Ross's move to the second highest position in the Sheriff's Department, and the de facto Financial Officer for the entire Public Safety Department, it is only right that we are told what the matter was about so that we can decide the seriousness of the allegations and the fitness of the punishment, if any. To not tell us that shows a lack of transparency, and therefore a lack of integrity."

"You have no grounds to speak of integrity, nor financial propriety." growled J.P. Goldman, knowing that Carnes had barely escaped prosecution for campaign finance violations. (Author's note: 'Vox Populi Vox Dei', Ch. 01; 'Red Squad', Ch. 01-02.)

Five voices yelled 'Point of Order!". The Mayor tapped his gavel until order was restored. "Don't start going off the rails, people." he admonished.

"Sheriff, do you have any comment on the disciplinary action?" Kelly Carnes asked, her voice a snarl.

"Only that it was handled internally, the matter is closed, and I will not speak further of it." Griswold growled strongly.

"Chief?" asked Kelly Carnes, her voice withering, and accusing.

"As they say in the British House of Commons," said the Chief, "I refer you to the reply the Sheriff gave some moments agooooo."

"This is not the House of Commons." fired back Kelly Carnes. "What was the infraction by Commander Ross?" When she received no reply, she said "Maybe we should lay this on the table and call for a Board of Inquest to determine what happened."

"The matter is already handled, and closed." said Ian McGhillie. "The I.G. won't even bother with an Inquest hearing."

"Why not?" fired back Carnes. "It's his job to determine the truth, the real truth, and make sure the proper punishment was applied, especially if the Police are covering up-------"

Five persons yelled "Point of Order!" The Mayor tapped his gavel, then said "Carnes, you're not going to use this Council meeting to campaign for that NAMbLA slug Bruce Finneran. We have a seconded motion on the floor, and a procedural move to split it into three separate votes. Are there any objections to splitting the vote?" There were five objections.

"Then I move to amend to separate the motion into three parts, for separate votes on each person being considered." said Sheila Sorrells. Kelly Carnes was not beaten in seconding.

The subsequent vote was 5-5, and the Mayor dropped the bomb: "The Council being equally divided, I vote 'Yea', and the motion carries. We'll have three separate votes." Seeing J.P. Goldman looking like he might literally lose consciousness, Allgood said "I want everyone, especially these Democrats, on record for each Officer, especially Captain Muscone's promotion."

Because Cindy was retiring, the Deputy Chief position was actually open. Therefore, the first vote was for Tanya Muscone to Deputy Chief. And that's when the fight started.

Susan Weston led the way. "I said before and I'll say it again." she started. "Tanya Muscone is not fit to hold her current position of Captain of Detectives, and she's certainly not fit to be Deputy Chief, a Command Group position with the power of a Principal to sign contracts on behalf of the County. She is not physically fit, being a cripple------"

Five persons yelled "Point of Order!". But that wasn't Weston's real problem. The Sheriff had had to physically restrain me from getting up and attacking Weston.

"Watch your mouth, Weston!" the Sheriff all but yelled.

"Let him go, Sheriff." Weston said. "That's right, Troy, I called your little bitch a cripple! Come attack me for it!"

"Don't do it, Crowbar." growled Griswold. "Wait until there are no witnesses!"

"Yes sir." I said quietly, the underlying current of pure menace in my voice unnerving many in the room... including Susan Weston. She'd crossed the line, and she knew it.

Mayor Allgood said "I accept the points of order. Calling a decorated Police Officer slurs like that is inappropriate. Do not call Captain Muscone that again, Ms. Weston, or I'll have the Sergeant-At-Arms escort you out... and I can't promise you the Iron Crowbar won't follow you out the door. Are you otherwise finished with your statement?"

"By no means." said Weston, who looked over at me as she said: "As i was saying, Muscone is not physically fit to be Captain of Detectives, much less Deputy Chief. She is also not qualified to be Deputy Chief because she has neither degree nor experience in financial matters like Deputy Chief Ross did when she assumed the job------"

"Point of order, and point of information!" interrupted Edward R. Steele. "The Deputy Chief position does not require a financial degree of any kind. Robert Brownlee did not have one. Della Harlow did not have one. Cindy Ross having one is the exception, not the rule. As to Captain Muscone's physical qualifications-------"

"You can say that during your debate time." said the Mayor.

"Mr. Mayor," said Steele, "I was going to state the point of information that there are no physical fitness requirements for the Deputy Chief position, not even to qualify with a gun, though Captain Muscone has. But yes, I'll state my evaluation of Weston's absurd comments at the proper time."

By the way, Edward Steele's daughter Marie and my daughter Carole are BFFs. Hmm, I wonder who gave Edward those points of information. I wonnnn-derrrr who that could have been...

"Thank you." said the Mayor. "And you're right about the qualifications. Okay, any more discussion?"

Malinda Adams asked "Sheriff, Chief, if Captain Muscone were not approved for this promotion, who would you nominate?"

"We have not assssuuuumed the nomination will be disapproooooved." drawled the Chief as I whispered something to the Sheriff.

"I want Crowbar to answer that question." growled the Sheriff. The Mayor nodded to recognize me.

I bore in on the feminist Malinda Adams and said clearly: "I can assure you, Ms. Adams, that if Captain Muscone is not approved, then the next nominee will be a man." The look she gave me in reply was 'priceless'. The Sheriff's mustaches were twitching with amusement.

Edward Steele then spoke: "I do not agree with Ms. Weston's evaluation of Captain Muscone as Captain of Detectives. She's done an outstanding job. The Intel Branch idea was originally hers, and it's implementation was hers. It has been a tremendous resource to help our Police do their jobs successfully."

Steele: "I will add that Ms. Weston's sneers at Captain Muscone's condition of being a paraplegic is both unjust and mean-spirited. Captain Muscone's example of overcoming being a paraplegic is a shining example for other paraplegics. And the highly acclaimed and very successful wheelchair race on Independence Day was all her doing. All in all, we should be proud to have a heroic Police Officer like Tanya Muscone on our Police Force, Ms. Weston's personal hatreds notwithstanding."

The Republicans on the Council applauded, as did the Sheriff, Chief, and me. To my surprise, Malinda Adams and Reginald B.F. Lewis also joined the applause.

The vote was taken, and it was 7-3 to approve the promotion. Malinda Adams was one of those. "She's a woman, and I believe Commander Troy when he says they'd put a man in there if we don't approve her." Women! I thought to myself...

The other Democrat vote came from the Council's only black member, Reginald B.F. Lewis. "How could you?" Susan Weston spat bitterly at him.

"Because I came to respect her after she whipped all our asses in that debate over the Intel Center." replied Reginald B.F. Lewis with a Cheshire-Cat-canary-eating grin. (Author's note: 'Return To Point Hollow', Ch. 04.) The look on Weston's face was one of unappeasable hatred.

"Okay," said Mayor Allgood, "we now officially have a vacancy in the Captain of Detectives slot, and Claire Michaels has been nominated to fill it. Debate?"

"I have one question, and it is for the Police Officers in the room." said Sheila Sorrells. "Claire Michaels was a Detective with the TCPD, and left for Los Angeles. Why did she leave? Or maybe I should ask why didn't she stay? What were the issues that made her leave? And if she does come back, how do we know she won't just up and leave again?"

The Chief deferred to me to reply, so I said "She's originally from Los Angeles, and the LAPD gave her a chance to go back home, so she went to work for them. She also was quickly promoted to Lieutenant there, which might've happened here but not as quickly. She got a ton of experience with the LAPD, but her unit commander died, that unit is being changed up, and she'll be promoted to Captain upon her return here."

Sheila Sorrells: "Were political considerations part of her decision to apply to return?" When I asked what she meant by that, she said "The LAPD are much more respectful to people out there than the TCPD has been to peaceful black protesters here. Yet Ms. Michaels wants to leave that positive political environment to come here, and she'd be leaving home, as you just said. So I ask again, are political considerations part of her desire to return here?"

I said "First of all, Ms. Sorrells, I don't accept the premise of your question that the environment there is 'positive' and the subsequent inference that the environment here is negative. That may be your opinion, and it's very likely not shared by others."

Your Iron Crowbar: "Second, the TCPD has not been disrespectful to peaceful protesters of any ethnicity, but you damn well better believe we enforce the law when that law is broken by violent protesters, ginned up and egged on by the corrupt Mainstream Media. And not only will I never apologize for that, I'll call you out when you lie and say that people setting fire to buildings, shooting at Officers and decent Citizens, and raping and beating women is (air quotes) 'peaceful' in any way, shape or form."

"So how do you know that Michaels won't up and leave again?" Sorrells said, trying to regain a modicum of the appearance of being in control after being called out. "How do you know she won't go back to LA on a whim, and we have to start this whole process over again?"

I replied: "First of all, she'll be a Police Captain here. That's a very high rank in any Police Department, and there aren't many Captain positions available anywhere. In large Police Forces like the LAPD, the position and rank are usually political, so it's very unlikely the highly politicized LAPD will hire her back in at the Captain's level."

I added: "Of course, she may be hired to be a Police Chief somewhere, like someone in this room was." I lightly tapped Chief Moynahan's shoulder as I said that, as he was an example of it, then continued: "And if she is, I'll be happy for her. But I think she'll be happy to be with us for a good while. And we'll go through this process again anyway, because we promote good Officers and give them the opportunities they deserve."

I saw Council Members's eyes glazing over, which was good; I hoped they'd get on with the votes. The Mayor asked if there was any more debate, and there was none. The vote was taken, and it was 6-4.