OpenCDA

April 27, 2016

A Better Alternative

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: — Bill @ 10:31 am

cpd-station-signYesterday’s OpenCdA post entitled Nice Sentiment, Bad Idea disagreed with the City’s plan to honor the memory of Coeur d’Alene Police Sergeant Greg Moore with an artificial “water feature” in the park by the lake. We offered an alternative.

At the April 25th Coeur d’Alene General Services Committee, both Parks and Recreation Director Bill Greenwood and Mayor Steve Widmyer evaded questions about the cost of the water feature.  From today’s Coeur d’Alene Press skews paper article headlined  Building the thin blue line:  Proposed McEuen water feature to honor Greg Moore, we learn that “Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer wants to memorialize the officer with a $750,000, privately funded, natural waterfall feature between the confluence of trails at the Fourth Street entrance to the park.

Our opinion expressed in our April 26th post has not changed.  Now that we know the Mayor is going to personally “… hit up businesses and ask for donations as well”, we feel even stronger that $750,000 in a fund to enhance the professional performance and development of Coeur d’Alene Police Department employees (not just sworn officers) would be the better alternative.

There can be fewer genuine honors to a police officer than to have his memory and name attached to something that improves the safety and quality of professional services delivered by his fellow employees.   We’re pretty sure we know what SGT Moore’s response would be if asked, “Which would you prefer? A monument to collect pigeon poop in the park or training which might make it possible for your fellow employees to perform more professionally and safely while policing their community?”

Training and professional development help retain good employees.  Training is a strong motivator.  It builds both confidence and professional pride in their chosen occupation.  In particular, interagency training builds interagency alliances which leads to the exchange of ideas that benefit all participants and their communities.

Instead of building a water feature, we would like to see a non-profit foundation started to administer the application and continuation of the initial $750,000 the Mayor has promised to raise.  It’s goal would be to effectively increase the professional competence of Coeur d’Alene Police Department employees so no more memorials to fallen employees would ever be necessary in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

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