A Comment From Another Article
19 May 2024, El Paso, Texas, Steven Zimmerman – The Jerusalem Press is fully back on Tuesday. However, we want to share some developments with you.
The following is a comment that was sent to us.
The good news is I have heard they might not promote Grijalva. The bad news is that now they won’t promote anyone else on the list, this means the department will have a leadership vacuum until the next test is finished, sometime after January 2025. They will blame the city, but the truth is, they could create spots if they wanted to. I don’t want to play favorites, but there is a female sergeant that is very humble but didn’t score that well on the test as she could have. If they skipped Grijalva, she might make it, she’s the last female sergeant on the list. They can skip someone if they really want to, but they won’t. They would rather let good sergeant’s die on the list then promote those that deserve it. The problem is, they are hesitant to skip Grijalva, and she actually might be the last person to promote. They definitely won’t promote Camp, so the list will die.
If you ask around, you can find out who the good sergeants on the list are. Not all of them are perfect, but the list does have some sergeants that work for their officers.
I love the department, but like others I want transparency. I want to know what’s going on, because the decisions made in the Chief’s office affect all of us. If they aren’t going to punish Lt. Surface, then tell us why. Instead, it appears as if he gets to stay home and collect a check until he retires. I have never worked for Surface, I don’t know him personally, but there is supposed to be a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment. I’m not saying to make him walk through the streets while we peg him with vegetables, but make the punishment transparent, or lack thereof, and explain why the action was taken.
For the sergeants, and officers, that have gotten DWIs, they are offered the same opportunities for pre-trial diversion as civilians, and they get it. This shouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier from being an officer, but it should be taken into consideration for being promoted. It shows poor judgement. I think it takes a choice to go drinking to excess without having a plan to get home safely. Failing to do so, shows poor leadership skills. For those that sell test answers for sex, it is unethical and is another example of failing as a leader. The charges may have been dropped, but this doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Instead of going after the people personally, I think you should focus on the instances where they failed as a leader.
Show why the behavior has failed the department. Show why the actions indicate these people set a poor example. You have the policies, mission statement, and core values. Just match the behavior to the violation and ask why these actions have not had consequences that have improved the department.
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I want to take a moment to comment on Sergeant Camp, what the department has chosen to do, and the track they have placed themselves on. I am a long-time veteran of the El Paso Police Department and am ashamed of what the department is becoming.
This particular witchhunt with Sergeant Camp did not begin with the release of a video showing that the Critical Incident Team that taxpayers spend so much money on is incapable of doing its job. That was not the genesis of this investigation. This began when Sergeant Camp filed a complaint against Frank Rodriguez. I will email you copies of that complaint and the department’s answers.
Mr. Rodriguez, a man who does not merit mention by rank, has displayed a disturbing lack of maturity. He has resorted to mocking Sergeant Camp and other officers who were in a life-threatening situation at 8500 Dyer. This was their first encounter with such danger.
When you have an officer and one who holds a relatively high rank as Rodriguez does, and they begin making light of other officers, you start to chip away at overall morale. When that same officer refuses to respond to a call for his direct assistance as the acting NE Regional Command acting commander, you’ve severely eroded what morale may exist. When Chief Allen, God rest his soul, decided to counsel Sergeant Camp and give Rodriguez a hard pass, you’ve destroyed all morale.
The department’s current action of seeking criminal charges against Sergeant Camp is equivalent to a hardline dictatorship where the rules do not apply to a select few. If they go ahead with the planned arrest of Sergeant Camp for what I now know is a video he did not release to the media, will they then begin to enforce this rule with others who have shared videos? No.
Another officer shared the following with you, “Show why the behavior has failed the department. Show why the actions indicate these people set a poor example. You have the policies, mission statement, and core values. Just match the behavior to the violation and ask why these actions have not had consequences that have improved the department.”
As a long-time officer with the El Paso Police Department, let me answer: There is a more significant problem within the department that they do not want to address: the love of power corrupting the few.
I believe, and this is the opinion of just one officer, that awful individuals are enriching themselves or their families while on duty. Far too many officers are willing to ignore policy, and the chain of command turns a blind eye in the name of staffing shortages. That is not how you honor your oath or the shield pinned upon your chest.
Now, the department’s secret cabal of officers who hold all the power will arrest and prosecute Sergeant Camp for daring to speak out against corruption and dereliction of duty, all because of a video he never shared?
If you read this and are a fellow officer, look in the mirror and ask yourself what side you are on. We are now facing an internal battle in which we must either remain silent and join the side that neglects the oath and shield, or we must speak out and fight what we all know is wrong.