Published: December 02, 2008 11:34 pm            

City hires new top cop

Bratton will serve as police administrator pending certification

The Corsicana City Council voted unanimously to confirm the hiring of Randy Bratton for Corsicana Police Administrator. Bratton won’t officially be called the Police Chief until he’s been certified in Texas as a peace officer by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.

Bratton was most recently the police chief in Paducah, Ky., until he resigned last summer.

He was chosen as the sole finalist for the position by a committee consisting of City Manager Connie Standridge, Mayor C.L. Brown, Councilwoman Ruby Williams, and the Rev. B.F. Risinger.

He will start his new position today, according to Standridge.

He was originally scheduled to begin on Dec. 8, but because of a hearing for Lamoin Lawhon, who is on indefinite suspension from the police department, Bratton was asked to start earlier than expected.

Bratton attended Tuesday’s city council meeting with his family, including his wife and two sons, ages 6 and 8.

Afterwards, he met with about a dozen Corsicana Police Officers who had also attended the meeting. In the next week, officers will be given a questionnaire about what they think the department is doing well, and what needs improvement, Bratton told the officers. In the next month, he said he would schedule one-on-one meetings with each member of the force.

Bratton said he’s not concerned about the quick start to his duties.

“I’m the type of person who likes to hit it and run,” he said. “I like putting in a lot of hours, and meeting a lot of people.”

He intends to meet with community leaders, and except for a quick trip back to Kentucky to move his family, he intends to dive right into the job, he said.

“I’m known for working 60 plus hours a week,” he said. “I’ve got a very supportive wife.”

Before his confirmation vote, Councilman Stephen Andrews spoke briefly, advising officers to abandon their past grudges about former police chiefs, and start afresh.

“As a former member of the Corsicana Police Department, I understand what the complaints have been and are within the department,” Andrews said. “We all need to rise above and move on and forget the past.”

Andrews also recommended a closer relationship with the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office, and a transparent city government.

“What the fine men and women of the police department need is someone with the good, strong moral character, honesty, integrity, (who) respects other people and their opinions,” he said.

Bratton said he’s eager to meet the sheriff and work closely with that department and with other city departments, from the code enforcement office to the economic development office.

His hiring is contingent upon his passing a physical, confirmation of his educational background, and his becoming a certified Texas peace officer within a year.

Until he’s certified, he can’t act as a peace officer, wear a uniform or carry a sidearm, said Tim Braaten, executive director of TCLOESE.

“He can be chief administrator,” Braaten said. “There’s nothing against him serving as public safety administrator, but he can’t tell people he’s police chief until he’s certified.

“Most officers that have been a peace officer for more than three years in a progressive environment have the education and training to satisfy intermediate qualifications, and Florida and Kentucky are progressive,” Braaten said. “I’d say if he’s been a chief then he’s satisfied that kind of training.”

According to the terms of his employment, Bratton will serve at-will, which means he doesn’t have a contract or guarantee of employment, Standridge said.

“No department head (in the city) has an employment contract,” she said. “His hiring is just like any other department head’s hiring. There’s no contract, and his status is no different than any other department head.”

However, the city has negotiated the following terms with Bratton, Standridge said:

• An annual salary of $82,000, as well as a monthly car allowance of $350, a cell phone allowance of $75, and $1,200 a year education pay.

• The city will pay his family’s moving expenses, but he has to get two quotes from moving firms. He is allowed 10 days to relocate to the city.

• He will have a one-year probation period, during which he may be terminated without severance. After that, if he’s fired, he could receive three-months severance pay.

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com

        

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