Congress Member Publicly Proclaims that Chief Chambers was “Right”

Will Other Congress Members Speak Out?

July 17, 2006 - Once again, as we saw in late May 2006, another spate of violent attacks on our National Mall has left many folks wondering why Chief Chambers’ November 2003 warnings to the Director of the National Park Service, Fran Mainella, weren’t heeded.  Here’s an excerpt from a letter Chief Chambers wrote to Director Mainella on November 28, 2003:

“Given our current lack of adequate staffing, I must alert you that the National Park Service’s ability to protect these precious historical icons . . . or our guests who visit them is increasingly compromised.  The continuing threat to the future of these American symbols becomes even more acute with any additional loss of personnel.  My professional judgment, based upon 27 years of police service, six years as chief of police, and countless interactions with police professionals across the country, is that we are at a staffing and resource crisis in the United States Park Police – a crisis that, if allowed to continue, will almost surely result in the loss of life or the destruction of one of our nation’s most valued symbols of freedom and democracy.”

Five working days after receiving this wake-up call from Chief Chambers, Fran Mainella authorized her Deputy Director, Donald W. Murphy, to suspend Chief Chambers’ police powers and send her home; she was fired seven months later. 

Recent public reports have shown that there have been NO increases of police personnel in the United States Park Police since Chief Chambers was dismissed.  And, as predicted by Chief Chambers, crime is on the rise in those areas policed by the United States Park Police. The news media, community leaders, and elected officials are making the clear connection back to Chief Chambers’ warnings and wondering why she was punished for them. 

Fran Mainella, the Director of the National Park Service, has remained quiet and absent from all public discussion of this matter.  Isn’t she ultimately responsible for the safety of those parks and their visitors? 

Washington, D.C.’s, Congressional Representative, Eleanor Holmes-Norton, recently stated to the Washington Post, “Teresa Chambers complained years ago, and I’m afraid she was right.  This police force is under funded.”  The Number 2 man in the United States Park Police, Michael Fogarty, recently met with Congresswoman Norton and provided her exact numbers of officers working. We commend Michael Fogarty’s honesty in telling Congresswoman Norton that the United States Park Police is under funded and for providing her the exact number of officers working.  The information he provided is far more detailed than that provided by Chief Chambers that resulted in her being fired.  Whether Michael Fogarty will now be subjected to similar reprisal is yet to be seen. 

HonestChief.com supporters are hoping that other Congressional Members will follow Congresswoman Norton’s lead and speak up on behalf of Chief Chambers and the men and women of the United States Park Police. 

You can read more about the recent crimes on the National Mall and about citizens’ reaction to these crimes through the links below.

PEER press release

Washington Post article

WTOP: Were Red Flags Ignored About Safety on the National Mall?

WTOP "Crime Outrage" (audio library).

The Capital:  Crime on the Mall - Scroll down to: Crime on the Mall

She Told Them . . . They Wouldn’t Listen!

June 25, 2006 - Anyone who has followed the case of Teresa Chambers, the Former Chief of the United States Park Police, won’t be surprised by this story.  In November and December, 2003, she warned her bosses that the dwindling resources of the United States Park Police left them unable to provide adequate protection to visitors of those valued and recognizable symbols of America’s freedom which the Park Police force was responsible to protect.  When asked by reporters during that same time period if anti-terrorism demands were impacting other services of the Park Police, Chambers was, of course, candid.  She balanced her concerns, though, with information about innovative steps the Park Police force was taking to stretch their resources.

Chief Chambers was certain that her bosses appreciated her cautionary advice about this matter.  She knew that they valued her relationship with the media and the community.  After all, Fran Mainella, the Director of the National Park Service, had formally praised Chief Chambers in the past, saying, “Your calm, confident, and professional demeanor as the press interviewed you certainly reflected well on all of us.”  Director Mainella added, “You gave the President, the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service and, in particular, the U.S. Park Police great national exposure while calming any anxiety and further enhancing the patriotic pride of this nation.”  You can read Director Mainella's letter for yourself. Click here.

But, alas, Chief Chambers’ warnings to her bosses in late 2003 fell on deaf ears.  Instead of heeding her warnings, they sent Chief Chambers home, firing her seven months later.  Now, predictably, visitors to our National Mall in Washington, D.C., have paid the price. 

A recent rash of violent assaults left a wake of terror and concern by visitors and Congress Members.  The District of Columbia’s Representative, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, said, “The fact that a sexual assault could occur on the expansive and mostly open Mall area and that those assaulted were men and women walking together, shows not only the unusual boldness of the attackers, but also their understanding that they would be free from pursuit or surveillance.”  According to Congresswoman Norton’s website, she "also said she was concerned that Park Police funding had been flat for the past two years, with only enough increases for the statutory raises, and that she would urge appropriators to examine increased funding for additions to the force.”   Hey, isn’t that what Chief Chambers said?

These recent crimes on the National Mall did not have to happen.  Chief Chambers warned her bosses – they just wouldn’t listen.

June 21, 2006 - Following a recent series of violent assaults to visitors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., several news outlets reached out to Chief Chambers.  They recalled that she warned that insufficient resources available to the United States Park Police would likely lead to increased crime.  If you missed the interviews, just follow the links below.

Recently, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, www.npsretirees.org, a group of more than 500 National Park Service retirees, published a report entitled "Reality Check: What Visitors to America's National Parks Will Experience During Summer 2006."  Among its findings is that “Visitors and resources at national parks will be put at greater risk this summer than in the past due to extensive full-time emergency and law enforcement staff cuts.”  On June 20, 2006, Chief Chambers was invited to appear on News Channel 8’s “News Talk,” to talk about this report, the recent crimes on the National Mall, and the connection to her continuing quest to be returned to her position as Chief of the United States Park Police.  Watch her interview here:

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