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Home»Opinion»As a citizen of the Lee’s Summit community,
As a citizen of the Lee’s Summit community,
July 8, 2010
Letter to the Editor
As a citizen of the Lee’s Summit community, I am very saddened to see the mayor’s statement claiming that the city of Lee’s Summit was not going to honor its word when it signed an Indemnification Agreement. It specifically signed this agreement to be removed from Ted White’s lawsuit. The mayor goes on to say that it was not known that the jury would bring down a verdict that the defendants violated Mr. White’s constitutional rights. How could you not know that? It is either a) defendants violated Mr. White’s rights or b) defendants did not violate Mr. White’s rights. A 10th grade civics student could tell you that. Does the mayor believe that our citizens are so stupid that they can’t follow what has happened?
What has happened is that the previous mayor and her staff failed to adequately do their jobs by not researching the city ordinances. The mayor of our town signed a legal document and gave our city’s word that we would honor the agreement. Our police department neglected this situation for far too long and now we are all paying for it literally. Each day that passes while it is not paid charges an additional $867. What do lawyers always say? Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
So let’s recap all the mistakes made here. The police department employs a dishonest detective who misuses his power and violates the rights of an innocent man with the cooperation of this man’s wife. The police department continues to employ this individual when the information comes forward that its’ employee misused his position and power. Ted White sues the police and the city. The city employees again don’t do their jobs by researching the situation fully before signing a binding and legal document. Now a judgment has come down for Mr. White and this mayor is refusing to follow a legal binding document and a legal judgment by our court system. Each day that the judgment is not paid, Lee’s Summit owes more and more money. Lee’s Summit’s reputation as a community has been damaged greatly by this entire process and the many mistakes that our government employee (s) have made. It is time for everyone to start doing their jobs. You are embarrassing our city. As adults we are constantly harping to our children that we need to take responsibility for our mistakes. You need to take ownership, pay any penalties and move on from there. Lee’s Summit management needs to start acting like the adults they are supposed to be. Our citizens are watching and, guess what, they are intelligent enough to understand how our government employees have not been doing their jobs but are still getting paid.
