Survey: Over Half of Fla. PD’s Officers Upset over Work Conditions
BRADENTON, FL June 22 2022—More than half of Bradenton police officers have serious complaints about their working conditions — pointing to poor pay, low morale and favoritism from department leaders, a recent survey found.
Earlier this year, the agency’s police union did a survey that came back with harsh feedback for Chief Melanie Bevan and other police leaders. Of the agency’s 102 officers, 57 responded, which union leaders called an “excellent” response rate.
Mick McHale, the president of the Southwest Chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, said the results don’t speak for the entire department, but more than half of Bradenton’s police force found fault with the agency.
“Of those that did choose to take the time and respond to the various questions that were posed to them, it is an alarming percentage that is dissatisfied with the conditions that exist at the agency,” McHale said.
Survey results obtained by the Bradenton Herald detail the issues that officers expressed about police leadership. The vast majority of the officers who responded to the survey said they believe there is favoritism in the department, that the salary is too low and that grievances cannot be filed without repercussions.
At the end of a contentious public meeting last week, Mayor Gene Brown said that he will continue to support the chief’s guidance of the police department.
“I have total confidence in our chief, our administrative staff, our volunteer staff … as well as every officer that’s in there,” Brown said. “Whether there’s turmoil at this point or not, we’re going through it.”
Of those that responded to the survey:
100% feel the salary is fair to poor
96% feel morale is low or very low
88% feel there is favoritism in the department
88% think information sharing is fair or poor
84% feel promotional opportunities are fair or poor
84% believe personnel rules and regulations are not applied equally
“There appears to be a serious problem between management and rank and file officers,” the survey concluded.
The anonymous survey, which did not include identifying information for anyone who responded, asked officers to rate statements on a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. A portion of the survey also allowed officers to provide written responses to questions.
The written responses gave Bradenton’s officers an opportunity to air major concerns with the department’s leadership. Several called on Bevan to resign as chief, while other officers with decades of experience said they have never seen morale so low.
“As a 20-year police officer, I’ve never seen morale this bad,” one officer wrote. “It’s a daily struggle for myself and other officers, sergeants and lieutenants to show up for work.”
“The salary for the Bradenton Police Department is among the lowest in the region,” another officer said.
Some officers also used words like “corrupt” and “political” to describe Bevan’s actions as the leader of the department. When asked about one thing that an officer would change about BPD, at least a dozen officers said they would remove Bevan from her role as chief.
“The resignation of Chief Bevan,” one officer responded. “In addition, we need a chief from outside of this agency to try to right the wrongs and instill ethics and morals into how the agency runs.”
A Bradenton City Council meeting turned chaotic last Wednesday after the results of the survey were mentioned during a public comment opportunity. Community activist and former Manatee County NAACP President Rodney Jones used the report to question the integrity of the police department.
“You’ve got to show some leadership,” Jones told Mayor Brown. “You can’t keep kicking the can down the road like your predecessor did.”
Councilman Bill Sanders also asked about the results of the survey, demanding an investigation into serious allegations of misconduct.
“This report is scathing,” Sanders said. It has nothing to do with the union contract — that’s about money. These are allegations of misdeeds primarily by the rank and file officers. They’re complaining about the chief and the people surrounding her.”
In response, Brown said he has reviewed the survey and asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the allegations. The mayor, however, called the survey a “distraction.”
“I have requested an independent review of the anonymous statements to be conducted by FDLE in order to determine if an investigation is warranted. This appears, to me, to be another distraction to the city and the Bradenton Police Department to deter them and the chief from providing quality service to the city,” Brown said.
Tempers flared when Jones began to yell from the audience, calling the mayor and Bevan corrupt. Without providing evidence, Sanders joined in on the attack to accuse the mayor of using the police department to investigate individuals.
“If you have a smoking gun, bring it on,” Brown shot back.
City Administrator Rob Perry also downplayed the survey results, arguing that it’s normal for surveys to come back with negative feedback while the union negotiates a new contract with the city.
“The quality of those reports is questionable. There are several questions surrounding the quality of that survey,” Perry said. “Quite honestly, it’s commonplace to have these surveys come out about the morale being low.”
From the audience, Jones shouted that Perry’s comments were a “slap in the face” to more than 50 police officers. The outburst led Brown to call a five-minute meeting recess. During the brief pause in the meeting, some council members stormed out of the chambers while Jones continued to yell insults in the audience.
Sanders and Perry traded barbs during the meeting recess, as well. Councilwoman Jayne Kocher, who became visibly upset, criticized Sanders for weaponizing the survey results.
“You’re feeding into this,” Kocher told Sanders.
McHale, the president of the local police union’s chapter, did not attend last week’s meeting but has been briefed on the City Council’s response to the survey. He noted that officers in Bradenton are routinely placed on administrative leave or reassigned when allegations are made against them, even if they are anonymous.
“Everyone is entitled to due process,” McHale said. “The chief of police should be placed in a similar position as a result of an allegation that she would place a police officer.”
The union decided to survey Bradenton police officers after receiving phone calls to their local and state offices that shared concerns. A survey, rather than a vote of no confidence, was chosen to receive more detailed feedback.
“Often, a vote of no confidence is a straight response. In fairness, the survey we provide gives the employee the opportunity to expand on various aspects of their working conditions. There may be an element of their employment they may be happy with,” McHale explained. “It’s the totality of their feelings.”
The suggestion from city leaders that the survey was being used as a bargaining tool dismisses legitimate concerns within the department, McHale said.
“There is no way the professional officers that exist in that police department, as well as the staff in our association, would use something this serious as a mere contract negotiation ploy,” he added. “If the chief, the mayor and the leadership within the city are saying this is a result of contract negotiations, they are intentionally misleading what factually, probably, exists there.”
