OK.  I personally like David Bowman.  And while I appreciate Greek Tragedy as drama, I like stories of redemption and resurrection better. I was expecting just that after Mr. Bowman's acquittal on criminal charges (Record, 11/19/07).   It would have been great to see David Bowman have the opportunity to either retire with dignity or take the time to check the waters to see if his return would be good for him and for Englewood. 

There is much to admire in David Bowman.  I've seen the former Chief do great hands-on work managing difficult people in public places.  You have to have a great instinct for people to do this as well as David Bowman does. Through the years, I have experienced him as a supremely friendly, calming presence even under the most stressful circumstances. This is a man who deserves kindness and respect.  And, after his long legal ordeal, it is certainly understandable that he wants that kind of treatment.

Yes, he has had difficulties in the past, publicly admitting "I'm no poster boy." (Record, 9/24/00)   And, yes, during his last tenure as Chief we had Police Department personnel issues (Record, 5/6/00), lawsuits (Record, 7/21/02) and expensive legal settlements (Record, 1/3/01).  And, yes,  as Chief his handling of overtime in his department was called "not fiscally responsible"  by Councilman Jack Drakeford, who was also a Councilman when Mr. Bowman was first suspended. (Record, 11/13/03).

So certainly, granted his past travails, Mr. Bowman needed and deserved the support of friends who had enough regard for him to help him realistically assess his options.  In that spirit, I regret to report the following:
 
The Mayor, Councilman Drakeford and others have attempted to promote Mr. Bowman's immediate return as Chief not by lining up broad community and professional support for him, but by opportunistically using this affable man as a political battering ram to inflame passions in an attack on the City Manager and Council.  In doing so, they did not even bother to make a case for Mr. Bowman as someone who might be a professional step up for the Department and the entire City.  Rather, they diminished Mr. Bowman, reducing him to a generic racial litmus test which, if not passed, would -- as some implied -- lead to unrest in Englewood. 

This is a clear disservice to our City and is outrageously disrespectful to Mr. Bowman. To add insult to Mr. Bowman's injury, the Mayor, Mr. Drakeford and others left him hanging and vulnerable.  How vulnerable?

At the December 18 Council meeting, a large number of diverse, uniformed officers of the Englewood Police Department stood in the back of the chambers as the President of their union, Fred Pulice, spoke at the microphone during the public session.  Mr. Pulice expressed regrets at feeling compelled ethically and professionally to weigh in on the discussion on behalf of his membership who were, obviously, concerned about the direction the process was going.  Mr. Pulice stated that a critical mass of the Englewood Police felt that Mr. Bowman's past conduct and violation of proper protocol had disgraced the Department and its reputation.  In a referendum of the Englewood Police Department, 71% of the officers voted "no confidence" in Mr. Bowman as their Chief. The same 71% of the Englewood police force voted in favor of retaining acting Chief Arthur O'Keefe as their leader.

I regret to say that now, no matter what decision the City Manager and the City Council makes regarding who will be our Chief in 2008, Englewood and Mr. Bowman will be poorer for it.  And this lamentable state of affairs rests at the feet of our Mayor who fanned the flames, Councilman Drakeford who stirred the pot and those others who saw fit to use Mr. Bowman as a pawn in inflammatory race politics. David Bowman deserved much better from his so-called friends.

What we are witnessing is the political exploitation of a man, David Bowman, not his redemption or vindication.  And that is a tragedy for Mr. Bowman and our City.