Naples city manager, chief respond to complaint
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City manager Bill Moss and police chief Tom Weschler are responding - following concerns from a Naples city councilwoman about the way a review of a complaint against the chief was handled. Video by fox4now.com
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NAPLES - City manager Bill Moss and police chief Tom Weschler are responding - following concerns from a Naples city councilwoman about the way a review of a complaint against the chief was handled.
Back in June, Naples resident Henry Kennedy filed a complaint against Weschler that accused him intimidation with a badge and gun during a confrontation outside city hall.
"There were some investigations going on and i thought if he and i talked i could stop some of the misconceptions," said chief Weschler.
The chief denies a statement in the report that also claimed he used an "unfriendly tone" when asking Kennedy about some anonymous public records requests that were filed.
"There was no intentions at all to intimidate or to stop anything at all," said the chief.
City councilwoman Teresa Heitmann questions whether the case was handled correctly when it was investigated by the Naples city manager, instead of the internal affairs department.
According to the paperwork that Kennedy filled out, after the complaint if filed, an internal investigator would contact him for a sworn statement, but when the city manager took over the case, Kennedy was never contacted for his official version on the story.
Moss told Fox 4 that he ended up with him to avoid a conflict of interest because the chief oversees the internal affairs department.
I also asked Moss "when you do these reviews do you conduct them as an internal investigator would?"
"Moss: I do not. I conduct them as a city manager with the department director who is the police chief and that's all the law requires.""
The city manager said based of the state statutes, he was not required to follow the internal investigation requirements for investigating the chief.
"The chief is not considered a police officer for the purposes of the bill of rights and the investigations"
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