| Great job - You're fired! |
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| Written by Mark Nichols |
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Obviously there is no “good time” to get a pink slip. But how about being notified of your impending termination from the job right after you collar a murder suspect? In East St. Louis, just twenty minutes after a killing in a local store, Officer Kristopher Weston arrested a suspect he found hiding in some bushes. But what should have been cause for buying the officer a few rounds at the local cop bar, as well as grounds for a commendation, rapidly turned into a cruel joke. A few hours after the officer arrested the killer, the mayor called Weston before the City Council to recognize him for his work. And then they laid him off five minutes later. Budgets don’t acknowledge good police work or high rates of crime like those found in East St. Louis. In one day, Officer Weston went from local hero to victim of circumstance. Weston’s low seniority put him in a pool of five police officers, five firefighters and about as many other employees who will lose their jobs as part of budget cuts unanimously approved at an emergency council meeting recently. In all, 17 positions will be eliminated. Weston, 28, is a homegrown guy. He was born and raised in East St. Louis and said he always wanted to be a police officer. Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. said some disciplinary matters in the department may mean other officers will be fired for cause, which might mean that some of the officers in line for layoffs will be able to stay on. That being the case, Weston was extremely diplomatic about being honored for his work and fired on the same day. “It was nice to be recognized,” Weston, who has ten months on the job, told reporters from the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “I’ll just leave it at that.” Mayor Parks, to his credit, said it would be tough to lose any officers, and also pointed out that the newer officers are among the best in the department. “It hurts,” Parks told reporters. Parks campaigned on public safety and quality of life issues and likes to tout reductions in serious crimes under his administration. “It does hurt, but there’s only so much you can do when you have fewer resources.” And while many states and counties are looking to gambling as a source of revenue to stem the loss of public safety personnel due to budget issues, that approach hasn’t helped in East St. Louis. A local casino, the Casino Queen, has struggled as fewer patrons show up to part with their cash. The casino is a huge source of operating funds for the city, and revenue from the casino is down 15 percent from the rosy projections of recent years. Residents at the meeting weren’t pleased about the cuts and layoffs. “We’re talking about safety and that comes first,” Barbara Henderson told the attendees. “We’re cutting our own throats.” “We can’t afford to lay off one policeman,” said Martha Young, a longtime resident of the city. “We need 25 more. We can’t afford to lay off one firefighter. ... It’s going to be like the Wild West out here if we let them go.” “This city is broken,” said Councilman Delbert Marion. “This city is going through changes it may not recover from.” subscribeAdd this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          Comments (0)
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