Joined
·
4,179 Posts
Well Chief Larry Boone, I'm certain you've just eroded the trust of those you've sworn to protect and serve way more than Lt Kelly, except BLM and ANTIFA, I'm sure you retained their trust in you
The statement from the city manager (emphasis added):The alleged donation from Kelly was made on September 3 and included the comment, “God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You’ve done nothing wrong” and “Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don’t be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.”
This is reprehensible. People are now being stalked by the press and fired from their jobs for small donations to various cops and citizens accused of crimes? None of that happened last summer with the BLM bail donations. Shouldn't we all just accept that we have differing views on subjects and let people do what they want to do as long as it is no illegal?I have reviewed the results of the internal investigation involving Lt. William Kelly. Chief Larry Boone and I have concluded Lt. Kelly’s actions are in violation of City and departmental policies. His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve. The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable.
Except that he never identified himself as a Norfolk cop, or a cop at all. It was an anonymous donation and the comments were made anonymously, with identification only made possible by hacking and doxing.Having worked in HR, the fact that he used his official email and ID'ed himself as a Norfolk cop made his comments and the donation reflect on the department. He said "You’ve done nothing wrong” and “Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don’t be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.” It's the equivalent of saying that to a reporter. Knowing Norfolk as I do, that would definitely put him in conflict with the community.
What he did would have gotten him fired from just about any organization. It is standard practice that employees should not use company email or their title with the company to support controversial causes. He should have sent the donation anonymously on private email. I know people here won't agree, but I'm telling you, this is not cancel culture, this is standard HR stuff. That fact doesn't care about your feelings.
this, i think, is the crux of the matter. he used company assets for personal use. like it or not, agree or not, his employer is now attached to his actions. i don't know if an expectation of privacy is relevant here, because the company didn't out him. i think you'd be hard-pressed to find a workplace that would allow this. plenty of places record your emails at work, record your incoming and outgoing calls, etc. i'm the last guy that's ever gonna agree with HR, but in this case...So his big crime, worth being fired over, was using his work email address. I wouldn't have done that, given that you have no expectation of privacy with your employer. Gawd, I'm glad I'm retired. I feel sorry for the cop, he only said what everyone is thinking.
Let's build a mountain. I hear mountains win against locomotives 100% of the time.Cancel culture is a locomotive just gathering speed.
Cancel culture is a locomotive just gathering speed.
There's a cure for that train.Let's build a mountain. I hear mountains win against locomotives 100% of the time.
It didn't stop the little engine that could!Let's build a mountain. I hear mountains win against locomotives 100% of the time.
I think the take-a-way here is probably that a person should leave any connection to their employer out of hot-button statements or acts which can easily draw the ire of others.The grounds for the termination is that he used his city email address when he made the donation. Its a real stretch, but had he used his personal email address, there would be no legal grounds to terminate him.
My employer is a professional services firm and we are cautioned about their social media policy all the time on these social issues. Under my professional profiles, I say very little of controversy other than congrats on the new positions, happy birthday, etc. Under my personal profiles, I get a little more opinionated but try to always strike a neutral tone. I avoid inflammatory language and try to present a reasonable intellectual discussion, never emotional.I think the take-a-way here is probably that a person should leave any connection to their employer out of hot-button statements or acts which can easily draw the ire of others.
From another source it said He made an anonymous donation and the donation site was hacked to get the names and info of any one that donated! Quite a few were outed at the same time including a High up at Lawrence -Livermore Lab in the bay area of CA.[ he is taking crap too.] DRHaving worked in HR, the fact that he used his official email and ID'ed himself as a Norfolk cop made his comments and the donation reflect on the department. He said "You’ve done nothing wrong” and “Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don’t be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.” It's the equivalent of saying that to a reporter. Knowing Norfolk as I do, that would definitely put him in conflict with the community.
What he did would have gotten him fired from just about any organization. It is standard practice that employees should not use company email or their title with the company to support controversial causes. He should have sent the donation anonymously on private email. I know people here won't agree, but I'm telling you, this is not cancel culture, this is standard HR stuff. That fact doesn't care about your feelings.
Lol...It didn't stop the little engine that could!
View attachment 353358
Every state has different laws pertaining to employment, and every LE agency has its own policies and regulations. Conduct or activities while off-duty, not in uniform, and not attempting to portray ones self as representing the agency or employing entity may or may not provide any level of protection against departmental disciplinary action.PEF, that's outrageous. I would think the officer would have grounds for a wrongful termination suit. Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
This was all political and the result of weak leadership.Norfolk Police Lt. William Kelly was only roughly 10 months from being a 20-year veteran of the department, at which point he would have been eligible to have received his retirement savings without a penalty. He was fired from Norfolk Police Department in April, when he was suddenly left desperate to find affordable health insurance for himself, his wife, who is sick with cancer, and their three kids.