Timmons says he placed a tracker on the police chief’s truck and a surveillance camera on a car wash pointing at city hall where the chief’s office is because the mayor’s signature goes on the chief’s time sheets and he had concerns about them.

“The mayor’s position is not just shaking hands and kissing babies,” Timmons said.

But the mayor says he did not expect officers’ signatures on a bunch of resignation letters and did not expect the entire full-time Milner police department to resign effective Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The mayor wants to and says he’ll be able to keep a police department. In the meantime, the sheriff will patrol.

Milner Police Chief Lamar Bunn says he’s done nothing wrong.

  • Etterra@discuss.online
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    22 hours ago

    So the cops are fine with surveiling the populace, but when somebody does it to them they’re suddenly all butthurt? What a surprise.

  • CandyMountainCharlie@feddit.online
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    1 day ago

    On one hand, having your boss micromanage the hell out of you and kind of stalk you is insane.

    On the other hand, that’s what cops do daily to everyone with ALPR’s. I’m not sure where to put my rage on this one lol. How’s it feel to be treated the way you treat others?

    • kestrel7_7@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      I used to be a delivery driver for a wholesale bakery. The van was rigged to text my boss every time I went over 55MPH. This was years ago. The fact that there isn’t a similar level of surveillance on police is wild

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        There typically is on cruisers. There isn’t on their personal vehicles they take to the office.

  • SplitTheUSInFour@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Restructure and rehire. When one door shuts…

    Doesn’t have to be about oppression anymore. Today’s police force is a relic of the lynch mob era. The mob became the police.

    • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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      To anyone reading this: this user isn’t being hyperbolic. Go listen to the 6-part series on cops by Behind the Bastards

  • Blibly@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Oh, do cops not like being surveiled and held accountable? That’s crazy yo.

    Perfect opportunity to clean house.

    • Taldan@lemmy.world
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      Nah, I’m with the police on this one

      This is a micromanager using trackers and cameras to watch exactly when the police chief is, and isn’t, in his office

      Fuck that. I don’t care who you are, your boss shouldn’t be managing by stalking you

      If the mayor was worth anything, he’d be managing the chief based on results, not how long he was in the office

      • vagrancyand@sh.itjust.works
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        11 hours ago

        This only is somewhat reasonable if police have salaries that cannot obtain overtime.

        That’s not how police are structured in the US, especially in red states. Police in the US can receive overtime, therefore, there should be some basic check on whether or not they’re actually doing anything, or even showing up for the time they state.

      • LostCarcosan@lemmy.today
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        11 hours ago

        Nah fuck the police. They are able to just randomly shoot innocent people, access tracking technology that lets them know everything any specific person does and rarely, if ever, answer to anyone. They like watching everyone, they can deal with someone watching them to make sure they’re doing their damn jobs

      • xtr0n@sh.itjust.works
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        1 day ago

        People with the power to kill members of the public HAVE to answer to someone elected by the public (IMHO). Far too many police forces answer to NO ONE and tell their mayor/city council to kick rocks. That is dangerous and intolerable.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldOP
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        The article clearly states that the police movements were tracked because their time sheets were suspect.

        In a city/state/country with functional oversight, this wouldn’t be a problem and these lengths wouldn’t be necessary, but apparently they are.

  • Sharkticon@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    Uh oh somebody is upset they can’t commit fraud and steal taxpayer dollars anymore.

    • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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      Principle of least privilege shouldn’t allow the mayor to be privy to that information.

      • blargh513@sh.itjust.works
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        That is NOT fucking least privileged access, don’t make shit up.

        Source: work in security for 15+ years. I know bullshit when I smell it.

          • Burninator05@lemmy.world
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            12 hours ago

            Some random police employee is probably responsible for inventory management. But the police chief is responsible for that employee and the mayor is responsible for the chief. So if the mayor believes that assets are being misused they have a responsibly to try and figure it out or they become culpable to misused assets. The lack of top down process ownership is a problem these days. Responsibility rarely rolls uphill but it should.

            • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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              11 hours ago

              I think you’ll find the comment I responded to was saying tracking state property should be the norm.

              I’ll further guess you’ll find that companies have departments for asset protection.

              And if you’ll stay with me once more. The security team can reference surveillance to check if timesheets are being falsified.

              Now to reiterate: at no point was the mayor involed in seeing the actual data rather they would make a request to the relevant parties.

            • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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              10 hours ago

              Ask security to check the cameras to see if they are leaving early or showing up late. Ask them about login times to see if people are signing in or out early.

              Ask whomever tracks the cars to see if they are being signed in or out at odd times. Even asking them just for a list of times a specific car was signed in or out.

              At both of these points there is a person who decides whether the mayor should be allowed specific information given their duties. (In the OP example it’s for a time sheet that they manage). Also note, both of these provide less information than the OP.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldOP
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    2 days ago

    TLDR: The cops appear to have been fudging their time sheets to get money for nothing from the city and taxpayers.

    But I can appreciate the amount of oversight this mayor unilaterally decided to enforce on behalf of constituents. Kinda sucks that we can’t get this kind of institutional oversight except on a super-local scale.

    • Taldan@lemmy.world
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      The article provides no evidence the chief was lying about hit time. There was a tracker and camera, and even the mayor isn’t claiming to have collected any proof of fraud

      This is the mayor:

      Right is right and wrong is wrong. … I turned my life over to Jesus 15 years ago, I’m a recovering drug addict, and I turned my life to Jesus

      The mayor comes across as a paranoid addict who treats everyone else like an addict who can’t be trusted

      TLDR: The cops appear to have been fudging their time sheets to get money for nothing from the city and taxpayers.

      Do you have anything to substantiate your claim here?

      Separately, it feels very dishonest that you presented it as a TLDR of the article, when the article doesn’t make this claim

      • kestrel7_7@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        Do you have anything to substantiate your claim here?

        IMO police corruption is so common in this country that the burden of proof is on the cops to prove they’re not corrupt. As far as I can tell, “lack of accountability” is the main reason people have been getting into the profession (evidence: lower and lower rates of people becoming police officers ever since Ferguson in 2014).

      • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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        His constituents are aware of his past and still chose him to represent their values. He shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells for the rest of his life.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldOP
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        Timmons says he placed a tracker on the police chief’s truck and a surveillance camera on a car wash pointing at city hall where the chief’s office is because the mayor’s signature goes on the chief’s time sheets and he had concerns about them.

        Read closer next time.

        • Fmstrat@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          @Taldan@lemmy.world is not inaccurate, all they are saying is this isn’t cut and dry, and you should keep reading:

          Milner Police Chief Lamar Bunn says he’s done nothing wrong.

          He says his job is not confined to a building, a vehicle or the city limits, that he’s worked remotely at times on administrative matters, emails, for instance, monitoring the radio and more.

          And Bunn says his boss, the city administrator, knows how he works.

          “My job doesn’t stop when I leave the office,” he said.

          The Mayor is a former alcoholic who thinks he’s always right because he found religion.

          And if this was anyone other than an officer, Lemmy would be in an uproar about invasion of privacy and in-office requirements.

          • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldOP
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            16 hours ago

            And if this was anyone other than an officer, Lemmy would be in an uproar about invasion of privacy and in-office requirements.

            Yeah, because that’s a very important detail that can’t be ignored.

            And I might think you have a point but for the mass resignation. It’s common practice here in the US for cops to just take a job in another department when they get themselves into trouble. These frauds probably already have new gigs lined up.

  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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    2 days ago

    Police should have GPS tracking on work vehicles. It is the same as body cameras, it can exonerate them as well as price wrongdoing.

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          Police unions are the only unions that shouldn’t be allowed to exist. Police are enforcers for the ruling class, not labor.

          • DokPsy@lemmy.world
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            Imo public servants should not be unionized for they are already in a larger union; the government

            • kestrel7_7@lemmy.world
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              11 hours ago

              The government isn’t a union. A union is an organization within a workplace that’s controlled by the workers. The government is controlled by the voters, the vast majority of whom don’t work for the government.

              • vagrancyand@sh.itjust.works
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                11 hours ago

                That is the union in question. Public service should be something that is controlled entirely by the voters. It is not a career to enrich yourself, it is a service. And if you have grievances with the voters, your bosses, you need to take it to them directly.

        • shalafi@lemmy.world
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          I dunno. The Teamsters are not to be trifled with, though they don’t have the juice they used to have.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      Logistics, you know where your people and equipment are in times of crisis instead of calling everyone on the radio. Pretty sure shipping companies do this for similar reasons, know where the stuff is at all times. If they have a problem with that being part of the job, they can find another one. For an honest cop, this shouldn’t even be a question.

      • Maeve@kbin.earth
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        Moreover, cruisers are public property. If a private company provides a vehicle and are allowed to ensure it’s not misused, certainly taxpayers funding the employees and property are entitled to ensuring responsible use.