I sometimes forget that we work in a field that is often confusing to the general public and those that have not been exposed to law enforcement for very long. For lack of a better term our jobs and our personalities are alien to them. I have always hoped however that all of us who wear the green would be able to look out for one another, not create problems out of nowhere.
For over a decade I have had the distinct privilege of serving at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station. Some of the finest Americans I will ever know have made their ways through the doors of this station, along with some of the most demoralizing people I have ever met.
Imperial Beach has undergone some significant changes over the past several years. Much of this has to do with the changes in leadership. For too long the IB station was allowed to languish under the "Do Nothing" regimes of PAICs Arnie Forsyth and Dave Brown. It seemed they were more concerned with counting the days until retirement than with managing their station or checking on morale. The relationship with the union was contentious due to a few Field Operations Supervisors operating on their own and doing all they could to suck the will to work from the troops. While these two PAICs passed through a change was occurring in the amount of alien traffic. Smugglers were realizing that less and less agents were on the line and instead of going to the desert they could push their groups through in IB fairly effectively. But IB management tried what has now proved to be a failing strategy of doing more with less agents.
In 2005 Raleigh Leonard became the PAIC of IB. I have known Raleigh Leonard since I was a trainee since he was my Field Training Officer. I believed he would do many things to improve the work conditions at IB. On that account I turned out to be right...and wrong. PAIC Leonard allowed his agents to work and morale definitely improved. There was open communication between the station management and the union. Problems were solved with a phone call instead of grievances. But alien traffic continued to increase and the assaults on agents were through the roof, all while operating with a near record low amount of agents.
I believe that overall PAIC Leonard did more good than bad for IB. But in 2006 IB took over the area from the ocean to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. I sat in a meeting where PAIC Leonard assured us that, "We will not flex east until we have the manpower to do it." Four weeks later they did it anyway.
I will fast forward to the current situation. Manpower is stretched to the breaking point now and assaults are an everyday occurrence. SRT, BORSTAR, Horse Patrol, and the Air Mobile Unit have been brought in to supplement the line units which have been completely overwhelmed. The outgoing PAIC, Mark Moody, continued the good relationship between the union and management but his hands were tied concerning the manpower issues and the increased operational area.
This brings me to the main point of this post. Recent events have shown that some managers, namely (A) APAIC Mike Apple, are reverting to the old ways of crushing morale through micromanagement, jumping to conclusions which never benefit the line agents, and my favorite of causing more problems for agents by not following policies OR READING THE CONTRACT!
Mike Apple has shown a callous disregard for the union and by extension the membership at IB. He has attempted to violate the rights of union members by denying them representation during the course of an investigation. I know he is only the "Acting" APAIC but he deserves an Oscar for the conviction with which he told me that he, "was looking out for the agents" and "that the agents know he has their back." Several agents I related that to were incapacitated by fits of laughter.
I have tried to explain my actions and my thoughts to (A) APAIC Apple, but my impression from his words and tone is that he does not care. He is going to have the agents do what he wants when he wants it. His people skills are non-existant and my guess is that he is looking to move up the food chain. Unfortunately he is attempting to do that on the backs of the agents and complicit in it are his supervisors who have allowed him to do so. It seems that by his chronic actions the relationship we once had at IB is on life support. I believe it will be up to the new PAIC to continue the working relationship that has existed over the past few years. The union hopes that we can again work together to make the job easier and safer for the agents.
I take no pride in saying that (A) APAIC Mike Apple has exhibited the new agency mantra of "Honor Last."
January 29, 2008
Trouble at IMB
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7 comments:
Your article started out as if you think your 10 years in law enforcement is some sort or record or something. There are allot of good law enforcement people in this world and only a very few bad ones. Every police agency has to police itself, other wise it would be full of people like you. Reading your "BLOG" it sounds as if you were not upset with the managers as much as you are upset with your life and the career you are in. If you haven't noticed yet, the law enforcement field is a thankless job. Everyone is against you until they heed help. Mike Apple has given his entire life to law enforcement. I worked with Mike back in the 1980's and know him inside and out. When he questions an agent you are right, his tone of voice and actions may seem to be uncaring but he does care. He does not want anyone to tarnish the Border Patrol in anyway, that is the reason he wants to get to the bottom of every issue. If you are in the right, you will never find a better friend on your side that will defend your actions like Mike Apple will do. BUT, if you are wrong, God help you.It isn't Mike that has exhibited the new agency mantra, "Honor Last" it is you, by being the resident trouble maker with your poor attitude and disrespect for authority. Malevolent rumour-mongering, snide insults, withering threats and other such obnoxious mistreatment of people is also right up alley.Don't think for one minute that some of your comments and threats have been kept secret. I realize this is your Blog and you can say anything you are brave enough to say. Let me ask you one question. Are you trying to tear down the US Border Patrol by posting BS like this? I sincerely think in the larger interests of organisational harmony, performance and efficiency of the Border Patrol you should remove this from the Internet. Ron Lewis
It is obvious you are upset and looking to attack the messenger by making claims about how I feel regarding my time in service. Read the article again slower this time and maybe you will understand it.
I understand and agree that an agency has to police itself. If misconduct is alleged then I believe management has a responsibility to investigate it. It is the way in which they investigate it that I call into question. Mike Apple has time and again violated the rights of members when conducting investigations. Mike Apple has violated policy when it comes to conducting operations.
My job as a union representative is to vigorously defend our members. If that hurts Mike's feelings or some other supervisor I am not going to feel bad about it. Apparently our membership thinks I have done a good job since I have been elected to our executive board three times. I am willing to work with any supervisor as long as there is a good faith effort to actually work together. It is easier for me to work with them than against them and it usually produces a better result for our members.
I respect the Border Patrol very much and believe in the chain of command. Although I believe our agency has a fundamental lack in leadership and is poorly organized, I am proud of our history and would not trade my time as a PA for anything. But I believe your comments about snide remarks, rumor-mongering, and threats are way off base. Never have I been insubordinate nor have I ever tried to destroy this agency. I believe you would be hard pressed to find supervisors, besides Mike Apple, who have actually dealt with me and found me to be anything other than professional. But here on the internet you can post whatever you like about me even if you have never met me. At least the union allows you to post this without censoring it. I'm a big boy, I can take it.
In the position I am in I don't consider anything I say a secret. If I say something to a supervisor then I better be ready to repeat it to anyone. I have made no secret that I think Mike Apple lacks leadership skills, an understanding of agency policies, and any comprehension of the union contract. He is not respected as a supervisor by the troops he supposedly "leads." Even supervisors have told me the same thing. Knowing that now, who do you really think has more effect on "organizational harmony, performance, and efficiency" at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station?
I anxiously await your reply.
Yeah okay Ron. Spoking like a true management goon. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe you aren't management, but you are one of those people too scared (or oblivious) to question authority when it is wrong. No one has done more for San Diego Sector than Shawn. He continually puts his neck on the line for agents, even after people like you don't realize it. Thank God for people like him that question stupidity.
Let's face it, it is people like Mike Apple, too anxious to move up the chain and not have anything "bad" happen on their watch that have helped turn law enforcement into a thankless job.
In doing some research I ran across your blog the other day and found a posting about trouble at IMB. I found your posting and your responses quiet interesting. I don’t know you or Mike Apple, but as an outside observer, I wanted to make some observations. You accuse Mike Apple of jumping to conclusions and micromanaging. From your posting I believe you may be guilty of those same things and more. According to your account, you jumped to the conclusion that Mike Apple has hurt the agents with his investigation. I don’t even know what he was investigating, but you seem to have confronted him with an accusation if you received the response you indicate he gave you. You said Mike Apple told you he was “looking out for the agents”, but you do not indicate that you allowed him to explain his actions further. You do say you tried to explain your actions and thoughts. From this outside observer, this sounds like you allowed your thinking to get out of control, and you confronted Mr. Apple and made accusations without listening to his response. You seemed to be so angry that you did not want to listen or accept his explanation. Anger can do that to a person. If I were your boss, I would send you to anger management classes because you seem to have a problem controlling your anger, if this posting is any indication.
This whole posting seems to be a rant about Mike Apple that is really deeper than this incident. It sounds like you have some history with Mr. Apple, and you are trying to get back at him for something. You said you got along with the leader, a Mr. Leonard, but it appears to me that Mr. Leonard and Mr. Apple do not hold the same position, so what is the relevance of relating all that history with Mr. Leonard except to let the readers of your blog know that you and Mr. Leonard were big pals, and you are both part of the “Good Ole Boy Network”. Now you are upset that someone, like Mr. Apple, is coming in and actually trying to clean up the reputation of the Border Patrol and do their best to patrol more border with the current manpower (which is stretched to the max). This is not fair to Mr. Leonard or Mr. Apple. You make your ‘good ol buddy’ sound like he did little or nothing to help make our borders safe (and you praise him because he got along with you and the union since he did not confront you or do anything that would make you look bad), but when Mr. Apple seems to be doing his best to make the borders safe, you attacked him. If members of the Border Patrol need to be investigated because of something that they have been accused of, then Mr. Apple should be commended for trying to clear the agents and maintain a high respect and reputation of the Border Patrol by the public. You should be happy that he is trying to maintain the public’s respect for authority.
You also seem to have a personal vendetta against Mr. Apple. You first indicate that you are lashing out at all managers or more than one, but single out Mr. Apple. You make statements that you consider to be fact, but do not support them with valid evidence. Anyone can accuse another person of wrong doing in an attempt to hurt that person or tear down his reputation, but when you do that, you need to support that accusation with valid evidence. What you presented was your version of a confrontation/argument. Remember there are always two sides to every story. You don’t seem to want to listen to the other side. That is typical, though, when someone feels threatened by another, or when immaturity reigns over sound judgment. Remember when you point your finger at someone else in criticism, you have three fingers pointing back at you.
In the end my opinion is that you hurt yourself more than you did Mr. Apple. You showed your true colors—anger and jealousy. If I were your manager, I would require you to get counseling for you anger, and make you take a team-building course to improve your interactions with co-workers. From an outside observer, your accusations sound like something bordering on harassment.
Dr. Jennifer Rhodes
"Dr." Rhodes,
I will be brief. You were not present at any of the incidents when I have had to deal with Mike Apple. I am a very patient person and listened to Apple's reasoning and justifications for his actions. The underlying point is that on the occasions I have dealt with him, he has violated our contract and Border Patrol policy. He presented his side of the argument in full but when I attempted to do so, my reasons were brushed aside. Why do I need to get angry when I know I have the law and policy on my side?
You can make assumptions and use corny sayings all you want to try and psychoanalyze me, but in the end Mike Apple knows he is wrong and that is why he is running around the station making sure everyone still likes him.
I am the last person that would ever be part of the "good ole boy club." You will see that I felt my so-called buddy, Raleigh Leonard, in the end was more concerned with his career.
I urge you and all of Mike Apple's friends that are here trying to defend him to actually read the article.
I will let my boss know about your recommendation for anger management. I am sure he will get a laugh from that.
Dr. Rhodes requests that you give her the proper respect a doctorate deserves.
A couple of point in response to your comments:
I do not know Mike Apple or you.
Your comments still have presented no concrete evidence that Mike Apple disregarded policy or broke the contract, just accusations.
I am not trying to psychoanalyze you. It is my opinion that you are viewing any interaction with Mike Apple through a filter of bias.
Dr. Rhodes
First, let me say that I completely debunk the alleged “Dr. Jennifer Rhodes” as a phony and further, hold any of “her” assertions as invalid and erroneous. Stand up “Dr. Rhodes” and identify yourself. What the real “Dr. Jennifer Rhodes” has to contribute to this conversation is negligible at best due to the fact that if she’s not a PA, then what’s the point of “her” incessant rambling in Mr. Apple’s defense? A complete stranger reads the blog and comes to the impassioned defense of poor beleaguered Mr. Apple? Isn’t that the title of an upcoming movie from Bleeding Heart Studios, a subsidiary of I Pout All The Time Productions?
I don’t know Mike Apple, but I do know Shawn Moran and I know him well enough to know that Ron Lewis is also talking out the side of his head in concert surround sound stereo with the infamous “Dr. Jennifer Rhodes”. Shawn is consistently on the side of the agents and proves it day in and day out by serving the agents. The very definition of ‘management’ implies that the duties of any manager are inherently skewed towards support of the agency. I don’t find that obligation inconsistent with leading your assigned employees, but unfortunately, there are managers that are incapable of doing so. Shawn and I could easily name several managers (Rick Salinetti, Sammie Anderson and Mark Moody just to name a few) that have done and will continue to do both, but they are in the minority. And just because a viewpoint is expressed in disgust doesn’t mean that its not valid. Hey, “Dr. Jennifer Rhodes”….start taking notes, you might learn something.
In closing, the primary complaint voiced by Shawn is that Mr. Apple will not abide by the black and white text in the contract. Its not rocket science and conducting an investigation is no excuse to deprive anyone of their rights conveyed by law. Tell me doc, is the act of investigation in itself an excuse to deprive a suspect of his rights under Miranda? I mean, if the investigator is trying to clean up his ‘town’ or whatever the case may be, then depriving someone of their rights is wholly justified in your opinion? There are supervisors that continually ignore the contract as if it’s a disposable document, despite the fact that several of them wouldn’t even have a job if not for the diligent efforts of the union and the service and attorneys it provided when it was necessary. Its funny how ungrateful some people can become and how equally their memory fades.
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