On April 19, 16 members of the Greenbelt Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #32 issued a vote of no confidence in Acting Chief of Police Thomas Kemp. The FOP, currently in collective bargaining with the city, published a press release on Facebook on April 24 that stated: “It is the Lodge’s hope that upon hearing this outcry from its own police officers, the City of Greenbelt will expedite its hiring of a permanent Chief of Police.”
In an interview with the News Review, FOP Executive Board Member Scott Kaiser asserted the city’s force has been in a downward spiral for several years. “Staffing is real low,” he said. “We’ve lost several officers to other agencies, and more are leaving.” According to the City’s budget book, the police department has been operating about 20 percent below the authorized strength of 53 officers. In part, this is due to a half-dozen officers on light duty due to injuries or other issues.
Kemp was appointed acting chief in October 2016. In his reply to a Greenbelt News Review request for comment, Kemp said, “To my knowledge, the FOP has not formally notified the City of Greenbelt of the vote taken. “This understood, I am certainly disappointed with the purported action taken and the circumstances related to it. I wish to be clear that I remain fully committed to continuing in my position, leading our outstanding Police Department and ensuring that the City of Greenbelt is provided the very best police service possible. Working with the skilled and dedicated members of the Greenbelt Police Department in protecting the citizens of our City and their property has been and remains a constant source of pride. Our Agency will continue to meet the current challenges it faces and move forward resolutely and effectively.” The vote was not taken lightly, Kaiser said as he further explained the unusual move. He said that there was a buzz in the air about the vote, but the meeting on April 19 was not especially called for the purpose of the vote. Rather, he said, it was a regular membership meeting.
“I was surprised Chief Kemp didn’t show up,” Kaiser said. “He is a member.” Kaiser said the Lodge has 84 members total, but that number includes retired members. The number of active police officers who are members is 39, and, of those, 20 attended the quarterly meeting during which a motion was tendered from the floor and seconded – spurring a vote. “It (the motion) was discussed for quite a while,” Kaiser remarked. The vote was 16 in favor of the vote of no confidence, two against and two abstaining. Kaiser said he and another officer met with Kemp directly afterward to let him know. “We know it is devastating. We don’t want to hurt the guy,” Kaiser said. “But we needed to do something drastic to get some results before we don’t have a department anymore.”
Kaiser said the department has had to drop several special units and is working “an unbelievable amount of overtime.” Kaiser also stated that morale is low because of overtime and because of perceived slights to officers who have not received recognition for their work in apprehending armed robbers. He also attributed morale issues to criticism received by officers for not doing more when they already feel stretched thin.
The FOP issued a press release on April 24 stating that the vote took place. The press release said that the Lodge intends to provide additional information to city officials in the immediate future regarding this vote in order to make clear the areas to be addressed by new leadership. City Manager Nicole Ard said that she could not comment on complaints without seeing them in writing. “Since I have only received anecdotal comments from staff, I defer to the FOP to provide information on the FOP vote and press release,” she said. “Acting Chief Kemp is receiving considerable feedback from FOP members who did not participate in the vote and who express their support for Acting Chief Tom Kemp. I too have received such comment,” she added. “I have confidence in Acting Chief Tom Kemp,” said Ard. “Tom has worked hard to take over a department following retirement of a long-serving chief and other officers. I am also confident in the many Greenbelt officers who, like Tom, demonstrate professionalism, pride, passion and dedication to continual improvement in service. I look forward to working with Acting Chief Kemp and the FOP as we serve our community.” Ard also said the collective bargaining process continues to move forward and noted that she “cannot discuss the details of negotiations at this time.”