POLICE-CADET FLAP SPURS PROBE

Jan. 7 - Amid questions over the hiring of a Denver police cadet,
Mayor Wellington Webb on Thursday announced the formation of a
blue-ribbon panel to review the policies of the city's Civil Service
Commission.

Webb named former Colorado Supreme Court Justice William Neighbors
chairman of the five-member panel, the rest of which should be
appointed by next week. One member is to be chosen by the city
council, which has publicly quarreled over the role of the commission.

"This has nothing to do with Ellis Johnson," Webb said, referring to
the controversial recruit. "This is much bigger than that."

Without specifically including Johnson, Webb acknowledged that
concerns over recent hirings prompted the need for the independent
panel.

"Several legitimate questions have been raised concerning the
recruiting and hiring of these city employees," he said in a statement.

"The city needs to hire the best individuals possible to serve as
Denver's police officers and firefighters." Webb said he expects to
have the panel's recommendations by August, in case any changes would
need to be put on the November ballot.

The Denver Civil Service Commission has come under fire in recent
weeks for its decision to hire Johnson over the objection of Police
Chief Tom Sanchez. Despite a history of extensive drug use and theft,
Johnson was admitted to the Denver Police Academy in November after
being rejected by 19 other law-enforcement agencies.

"Some other police departments hire two people. We have to hire 400,"
Webb said. "Sometimes we're not comparing apples to apples." Last
month, Webb launched an internal review of the commission's hiring
practices. He had charged the city attorney's office with reviewing
the procedures of the commission, which oversees hiring for the police
and fire departments, and asked District Attorney Bill Ritter to
examine possible legal violations by the commission.

City councilman and former Denver police officer Ed Thomas, who had
earlier called the commission's performance "unacceptable and
embarrassing," praised the mayor's creation of the independent review
panel.

"Absolutely it's a good step, a longawaited good step," Thomas
said.

Thomas said he already has a few ideas on who the city council should
choose as its representative on the panel, but he still has
reservations about the process.

"How did the hiring process become so dysfunctional that it had to
come to this?" Thomas asked.

"It's nice the mayor put this panel together, but it's unfortunate
that we ended up in this situation. Hopefully, they can get the cows
back in the barn."

Webb is asking the newly formed panel to review the hiring,
recruiting, testing, promotion and disciplinary procedures for the
city's classified service employees, including police officers and
firefighters.

"I think the Civil Service Commission will be pleased," Webb said. "I
think they'll welcome the review." The panel will make its
recommendations directly to the mayor and will be assisted by the city
attorney's office.

The review comes at a critical time for the city, which has hired
nearly 600 officers since 1991 and is expecting to hire an additional
500 in the next two or three years.