The Year 2006 provided some significant events in the case of our “Honest Chief,” Chief Teresa Chambers, who lost her job as Chief of the United States Park Police as a result of her candor, integrity, and honesty.
December 5, 2006, brought the end of the third year since illegal actions were taken against Chief Chambers, forcing her from her job as Chief of the United States Park Police and starting a groundswell of support for her from outraged citizens across the country as well as from supporters around the world. Here are some other important happenings in 2006:
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton resigned.
Department of the Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary Paul Hoffman was transferred to a non-operational assignment.
National Park Service Director Fran Mainella resigned.
National Park Service Deputy Director Donald Murphy resigned within days after a court order drew attention to the veracity of a sworn declaration he prepared that contradicted his own previous sworn testimony and evidence in the Privacy Act suit filed by Chief Chambers’ legal team.
Donald Murphy’s departure marked the last person in Chief Chambers’ chain of command to leave the Department of the Interior or, as in the case of Paul Hoffman, to be moved to a non-operational assignment.
A book written by Bill Katovsky was published, which includes a chapter entitled “The HonestChief.”
Spates of violent crime on the National Mall brought Chief Chambers’ case back to the forefront of the media and several Congress Members.
Despite 48 documented legal errors by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Administrative Judge Elizabeth Bogle in a 2004 decision, in a split decision by the full three-member MSPB in 2006, the Board upheld the Administrative Judge’s earlier decision, clearing the way for Chief Chambers’ legal team to file her appeal in federal court.
Congress Member Publicly Proclaims that Chief Chambers was "RIGHT."
The federal judge handling the Privacy Act suit, filed by Chief Chambers in an attempt to obtain a copy of her performance appraisal, refused the Department of the Interior’s request to dismiss the case.
Since our last posting on HonestChief.com, Chief Chambers’ legal team has filed the preliminary paperwork to appeal the MSPB’s decision in federal court. The case has now been docketed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and an aggressive schedule has been established by the Court for the upcoming appeal.
The Privacy Act case is also picking up steam. Chief Chambers’ counsel will be conducting a number of additional depositions in January of 2007, and they are looking forward to an eventual hearing in this case before the federal judge assigned to it.
Be sure to read the stories throughout the HonestChief website that have been posted over the past months to read more details about the 2006 highlights just mentioned. You’ll find a number of stories and interviews in the Audio Library that will also provide additional details.
Stay tuned for further updates in 2007 regarding the federal circuit appeal as well as the privacy suit.
