Outside looking in: Keep police chief

I have been accused of being an outside agitator, but I have found that your citizens were agitated enough without me. Some just appeared to be too scared of retaliation to speak their minds.

The issue is your City Council and city manager and their handling of the situation with your chief of police. I have watched the circus for the last few months and heard things which astonished me. The elimination of the chief of police position with no plan for the future and the expectation that the “sheeple” will simply walk off the cliff without complaint.

The most alarming statement I heard during this whole thing came from City Manager Holsinger when he denied knowing what the allegations or perceived violations of the Brown Act were which caused the special City Council meeting on Sept. 28.

The original meeting was to oust Chief Bill Spears and it was done wrong. Mr. Holsinger’s statement appeared to me to be untruthful and I made a formal personnel complaint to your mayor alleging that Mr. Holsinger lied during his public statement.

I hope the City Council does not ignore my complaint. It was done in a formal manner and as I explained in my letter, I expect it to be investigated. This is a very serious matter in which inaction has serious consequences.

Your city manager should be held to the same standard of integrity as all his subordinate employees. With two law enforcement officers on the council (Cobb and Hansen), I would hope they would be demanding an investigation. If for nothing else, to shut me up.

The foundation of person’s character is their integrity. The foundation of a community’s character is the integrity and values of their government. People will not do business with people they do not trust.

Unfortunately, the people of Willows are being looked upon with critical eyes by the entire region because of this thinly veiled excuse to oust a popular and effective chief of police.

It alarms me when I see circumstances controlled by people who apparently have personal agendas which hurt a community and a friend. I was a police officer for over 25 years and bullies were always a priority for me.

Voice your opinion at your next council meeting.

Todd Miller
Red Bluff