Mayor-elect: Toledo's anti-self-defense police chief should step down

Toledo's NBC24.com is reporting that if Mayor-elect Carty Finkbeiner has his way, anti-self-defense Police Chief Michael Navarre will not be part of the new Finkbeiner administration.

From the story:

At an afternoon news conference, Finkbeiner said that he wants Navarre to step down as head of the police department in January when the new administration takes over. He named Captain Jack Lee Smith as Navarre's replacement. Currently, Smith is the head of Field Operations at the Scott Park District Station.

But hold on.

NBC24 has learned through a City of Toledo spokesperson that the Chief of Police does not serve at the pleasure of the mayor and Navarre has not [sic] intention of resigning.

"The Chief of Police, as a City of Toledo employee, can only be terminated for just or reasonable cause," the spokesperson said.

Ironically, Finkbeiner appointed Navarre as Chief of Police in 1998 during Finkbeiner's second term as mayor. Navarre has been on the force for 28 years.

Smith, a 32-year police veteran has held numerous positions with the Toledo Police Department. Also, He is a former Marine, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, and a Lieutenant in the Marine Reserves.

To anyone who has paid attention to some of the positions Mike Navarre has taken on the Bill of Rights, this news comes none-too-soon.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

If there is any question as to whether or not this man should continue in the position of police chief, consider Navarre's response to a growing gan-violence problem in his city just months ago:

----After a resident complained of gang violence (and before gang riots broke out in that exact area), Navarre told the Toledo Blade that the neighborhood where the riots occurred is a "relatively quiet neighborhood," and that his officers have not had many complaints of gang activity. Yet immediately following the riots, the Toledo Blade reported that Navarre and other city officials had learned of the potential for a gang violence outbreak before it even began.

----When speaking of a small group of Nazi's who planned a march in Toledo, Navarre said "unfortunately, they [the marchers] have the right under the First Amendment, and as distasteful as it is, we have to protect them," he said.

No matter how distasteful or hateful the message, it is hardly "unfortunate" that American citizens have the right to free speech.

But this wasn't the first time Navarre had been ignorant of or in denial about problems in his city, or the first time his "solution" went contrary to the Constitution. Consider his response to a spate of bloody convenience store robberies in 2003:

----When questioned on what store owners should do if bullets are flying, Navarre told business owners to "take immediate cover - get away from the bullets," and added, "Pick up a baseball bat if that’s your only defense against bullets coming toward you."

----Navarre has also said he "teaches small business owners not to have a gun."

Still not convinced he needs to go? Consider his lack of concern for the Second Amendment rights of the less-fortunate citizens of his city:

----In 2002, Navarre urged city council not to repeal a ban on inexpensive firearms that had resulted in just two convictions in three years, while at the same time preventing countless thousands of less-fortunate Toledoans their right to bear arms for self-defense.

----When trying to explain the failure of this gun control law, Navarre said officers simply "may have forgotten about the law", which had been aggressively promoted by none other than Carty Finkbeiner. During debate on whether or not to let the law sunset, Councilman Gene Zmuda recalled that then-Mayor Finkbeiner aggressively promoted the gun ban with arguments suggesting it was needed to stem a rising tide of violence.

For far too long, bureaucrats in the Toledo mayor's office and the Toledo police department have been allowed to focus their anti-gun "crime fighting" policies on all the wrong people. One can only hope that in his time on the sidelines, Carty Finkbeiner has seen the light when it comes to the failures of gun control.

UPDATE: The Toledo Blade is reporting that Mayor Finkbeiner has cited Navarre's lack of awareness about a growing gang problem in his city, and his handling of the Oct. 15 riot, as contributing to his decision to replace Navarre with Capt. Jack Smith.

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