Privilege, and Responsibility

As some BP residents have come to know, our Police Chief, Ray Atesiano, has resigned.  A policeman who becomes a Chief, who is effective, respected, and well-liked, does not resign such a post without a good reason.  Ray did not give one.

Few of us in the Village know anything about this.  Those of us (Commissioners and upper level administration) who know bits of it are limited in what we know, and more limited in what we can say. Under the circumstances, there are applicable State statutes that prevent disclosure of any information.  For that reason, Commissioners who knew something about it a week or two ago, have not been given any further information since, until it was made public that Ray resigned.

I have been approached by Miami Herald reporter Charles Rabin, and by a reporter from Channel 4 television news, for information about this matter.  I have had to frustrate both of them, for the reasons just stated: I don't know much, and what I know, or think I know, I can't say.

Mr Rabin published a brief and unrevealing article about this matter in the Herald.  He indicated he had not been told anything of substance by anyone, except by the Manager, who reportedly mentioned an "investigation" and "possible misdeeds."  Mr Rabin also, as it turns out, called more people than just the Village Manager and all five Commissioners.  He included a quote from one of our neighbors, Steve Bernard.  Steve was requoted by another of our neighbors, Noah Jacobs, in a communication Noah sent to some others of our neighbors*.  Steve commented to Mr Rabin as follows: "I don't have any problems with [Chief Atesiano].  I don't think anybody does.  It's just bizarre."  It was the word "bizarre" that Noah requoted.

What is important to note here is that both Steve Bernard and Noah Jacobs have been on the BP Commission.  Each of them has received privileged information, and each of them has attended Commission meetings "in the shade," in which the Commission and Village brass were included, and everyone else was excluded.  No one was ever heard to complain about being excluded from whatever these dealings were, and neither Steve nor Noah was ever heard to complain that their neighbors were excluded.  Commissioners are sworn to confidence about the content of these communications and special meetings, and I have no reason to believe that either Steve or Noah violated the trust about confidentiality that was placed in them.

So where Steve tells Rabin that he never had any problem with our Chief, and that he thinks the matter is bizarre, unless I'm being overly sensitive, I hear him complaining.  He seems to be saying he is unaware of any basis for a problem, and he is offended at the apparent fact that there is one, and that he doesn't know about it.  He declares it "bizarre."  He seems to be complaining that he is excluded.  Noah seems to be echoing the same complaint.

What Steve and Noah did is both unfair and unkind.  Each of them, having "been there," in the sense of having seen some of the behind-the-scenes dynamics that can happen, should know better.  Some things, at least at a particular point in time, are not fit for publicity.  Whether the reason is an active investigation or something else, there are limits, statutory limits, on what can be submitted to the public record.  There was a time, and there were circumstances, when Steve and Noah understood and accepted that.  It is disrespectful to propriety, process (legal and otherwise), and people for them to buck those limits now.  They need the sense of perspective, concern, and decency that their time in office should have instilled in them.  Clearly, it did not.  To say that they should have had a sense of perspective, concern, and decency before they sought and accepted public office is a lot of water under a bridge now.


*Correction: Noah did not quote Steve in a separate communication sent by e-mail.  His quote reportedly was included in other comments he made on his facebook page.  I do not use or visit facebook, and I misremembered what someone else told me about where this quote appeared.