TURNER DEFENDS POLICE

Metro Police are not out of control and he's firmly in charge of his
department, Metro Police Chief Emmett Turner said in an interview
yesterday.

Turner's comments came the same week officers were disciplined for crashing
into a state trooper's cruiser while intoxicated, patronizing an adult
swingers club and lending money to a Titans player charged with a domestic
assault. A week earlier, the department suspended a detective selling beer
without a permit.

Two officers were fired and six were suspended.

"I think this clearly indicates that we are very serious about trying to
correct the inappropriate behavior of our employees," Turner said.

Turner also cites the creation of an Office of Professional Accountability
following the restructuring of the Internal Affairs Division. The office
will be run by a civilian, a move Turner said will "be very important from
the standpoint of adding some credibility." The civilian is expected to be
named next week.

Turner said the restructuring is a significant step in his plan to restore
public confidence in his department.

"I am committed to having a professional police department and whatever is
necessary to bring that about, I am certainly willing to do."

In the months since Mayor Bill Purcell took office, three Metro department
heads have resigned and some departments are facing performance audits.

But Turner said he has the mayor's backing: "I think the confidence is
still there."

Said Bill Phillips, Purcell's chief of staff: "The mayor continues to be
supportive of the chief and the chief is very responsive to the mayor and
his concerns. The truth is a large majority of the department is doing an
outstanding job and working hard.

"These isolated incidents begin to build a perception that we've got to
turn around and they are dedicated over there to turning that around."

But a steady drumbeat of accusations and allegations raises questions about
the health of Metro police and Turner's ability to do what it takes to
restructure the department and get things in order.

"Unfortunately for us, it's been boom, boom, boom," police spokesman Don
Aaron said. "We're as tired of it as anybody. But had any one of these
incidents occurred in a vacuum, they wouldn't have been considered that
serious."

Incidents in recent months include allegations by Hispanic residents that
they were abused by Metro officers working off-duty as private security
guards, the firing of an officer for running a sex club, the recent
suspensions and the resignation of a high-profile detective who had failed
a random drug screening.

"I think it might cause a problem if we didn't deal with the issues,"
Turner said. "... I don't think the public can legitimately say we haven't
dealt with the problems we have."

Turner said his plan calls for additional training that will be under the
direction of the civilian head of the Office of Professional
Accountability. The training will be for supervisors of officers and
detectives as well as internal affairs investigators.

The civilian, expected to be in place by February, would also have the
muscle to review past internal affairs cases. Some cases already have been
flagged for a second look, Turner said.

The chief also is addressing citizens' concerns that they don't feel
comfortable coming to police headquarters to file a complaint against an
officer.

The department will work with the Human Relations Commission and send
internal affairs investigators to citizens' homes when needed, Turner said.

Weeding out deep-seated problems will require even more action, according
to a criminologist.

"It's easier to focus on the ones who have gotten caught, saying they're
the few rotten apples that have been removed from the barrel, than to deal
with what might be more systemic problems," said Michael Buerger, an
associate professor at Northeastern University's College of Criminal
Justice in Boston.

Buerger, formerly a police officer in New Hampshire, said departments need
to look deeper, to the hiring process and promotional process.

"The crisis is not that they're corrupt, protecting drug dealers, or are
street thugs," Buerger said. "It's that their moral conduct is bringing ill
repute on a house that should be irreproachable."

Staff writer Thomas Goldsmith contributed to this report.