On Wednesday, the Vanguard reported that a letter, reading like a national form letter, had been sent out to members of the community seeking to raise funds for the local Davis Police Officers’ Association, referencing “the unprecedented wave of violence against our fellow officers in Ferguson, Baltimore, New York and especially the execution murder of a Texas Sheriff’s deputy.”
As it turns out, the letter was unauthorized by the local POA and even got the name of the current president wrong.
In a letter from Sean Bellamy, the President of the Davis Police Officers’ Association, he said, “Regrettably, this mailer was sent out without the DPOA’s knowledge or approval. The content of the letter was not authorized by the DPOA and does not represent the viewpoint of the DPOA or a majority of its members. “
As he explained, “For several years the DPOA contracted with a company to send out mailers on behalf of the DPOA asking for donations. The DPOA would in turn distribute the donations to local charities and charitable causes throughout the community.”
A few years ago, the DPOA “suspended those mailers and no longer engage in that type of fundraising activity.” He called it a clerical error by the company producing the mailers that placed the DPOA back on their active distribution list.
Officer Bellamy explained, “That error caused the most recent mailer to be sent out without the DPOA’s knowledge or approval. The DPOA contacted the company immediately after learning of the unauthorized mailer and has ensured that this type of mistake will not occur again.”
As the Vanguard noted in its initial story, “The letter reads like a national form letter that does not specifically reference Davis Police activities. And, while controversies have struck elsewhere, the community and the Davis Police have worked well together to avoid these kinds of national controversies.”
The letter noted, “Today as I ask for your continued support of our community mission, we are mindful of the unprecedented wave of violence against our fellow officers in Ferguson, Baltimore, New York and especially the execution murder of a Texas Sheriff’s deputy. Combined with the double punch of California’s AB 109 (early release of some prisoners) and Prop 47 (making most property crimes, theft and non-violent drug crimes a misdemeanor) your future support is more critical than ever.”
The letter comes to light at the same time the Davis City Council voted to approve a three percent COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustment) to the DPOA, along with other bargaining units, in part because the DPOA has played ball and accepted concessions in the past. It comes at a time when the council may be looking at ways to add patrol officers and to make the department positions more attractive to new recruits.
It also comes at a time when many have been working with the Davis Police on ways to make the Davis Downtown safer for residents to enjoy the late night scene, as well coming on the heels of an agreement for an alternative conflict resolution process (ACR) and a discussion on the implementation of police body cameras.
According to the DPOA, any donations received in response to the mailer will be given to local charities.
Officer Bellamy added, “The intent of this letter is to clear up any confusion and assuage any concern about the mailer. The DPOA sincerely values its overall positive image and relationship with the Davis community and desires to maintain open lines of communication with the community at large.”
“I would like to thank the City of Davis and its residents for their ongoing support of the first responders who serve the community,” Officer Sean Bellamy wrote.
He added, “Having lived and worked in this community for years, I have seen first-hand the tremendous support shown by those who live, study and work here for their local law enforcement officers. The DPOA greatly appreciates that support and has continually attempted to strengthen its relationship with the entire community through open communications with civic leaders and ordinary citizens.”
—David M. Greenwald reporting
“That error caused the most recent mailer to be sent out without the DPOA’s knowledge or approval. The DPOA contacted the company immediately after learning of the unauthorized mailer and has ensured that this type of mistake will not occur again.”
Thanks to Officer Bellamy. That’s good enough for me. Of all of the many communities in which I have lived, Davis has by far the best community police relations and I think that many thanks are due to the efforts on both sides.
Too bad, because this is what is promised, but where is the documentation and information to that effect when they twist arms, I mean, ask for donations? First of all we are not paying these fine public servants for their time to ask for money, and administer this program, and who the hell does it go to, and where does that go to after that?
We have many organizations who “partner” with unsavory “charities” and simple ones not on the list so people are duped when they give to DPOA.
Many companies and agencies turn over addresses and personal information without securing the information at the end of the contract. This is what they hope for, and this letter is proof the information was not deleted. It is NOT good enough for me. Some lawyers and City Officers should be disciplined for this.
anyone else calling b******t here? so the dpoa just happened to have consulted with a vendor to distribute fundraising letters and cancelled it in the past. the vendor just happens to reactivate it. and the dpoa just happens to disavow it after the vanguard just happens to publish it? if the vanguard hadn’t said anything would they have given away the money to charity?
this smells.
more likely scenario: they consulted with the vendor, the vendor drew them controversy, when the heat rose, they disavowed the letter.
Lot of speculation here on smells.
yeah, and someone not the president was identified as president… obviously a deliberate ploy to claim plausible deniability… yeh, right!
“anyone else calling b******t here?”
That summation belongs at the end of your comments, not the beginning.
Miwok
“ so people are duped when they give to DPOA.”
Because there are phony organizations that claim to be charities so that they can fleece the unsuspecting of their money does not mean that the DPOA is one. For claims of this type made about local organizations, I would really appreciate it if the authors would provide information that they may have to demonstrate any nefarious activities of the organizations that they are directly accusing of malfeasance. Without such evidence, I can only interpret this as an unsupported slur.
Disclaimer : I have no knowledge of the activities of the DPOA and no association with anyone even remotely involved with that organization or with the police.