Column
By Mike Buffington
Asst. police chief flunks course
Jefferson’s assistant police chief apparently isn’t a certified officer in the state of Georgia and recently flunked a 408-hour basic training course required for certification, according to state records.
Gus Backelant was hired by Chief Joe Wirthman as the department’s second in command last July. But that hiring was controversial from the start.
Backelant, who is a former policeman from Michigan, was a member of the Jefferson committee that vetted candidates, including Wirthman, for the chief’s job in 2006. In effect, Backelant helped hire Wirthman. A year later, Wirthman hired him. (Such insider payback isn’t unusual for Wirthman. Last year, Wirthman gave his boss, city manager John Ward, the JPD “employee of the year” award. It was little more than kissing-up to the boss.)
Beyond questions about the hiring relationship between Backelant and Wirthman, Backelant has also been controversial within the JPD and the community. Some officers have reportedly bristled at taking orders from a man who isn’t a certified cop in the state, but who carries a gun and drives a police car anyway. Outside the department, Backelant has reportedly irritated some members of local emergency squads with his attitude.
Now Backelant has failed to pass a two-and-a-half month training course the city paid for him to take to become certified. Since word leaked out about that, the JPD’s assistant chief has lost even more respect from within the department.
There are some serious liability issues at stake in this issue. If Backelant takes any action, directly or through commanding a JPD officer, and that action results in someone’s injury or death, the city would be wide open for a lawsuit.
If Backelant were just a bookkeeper or secretary, that’d be one thing. But he’s the chief when Wirthman’s out of town. He’s the one who might have to make a quick, life-or-death decision on the job.
What makes all of this really stand out is that it further confirms Wirthman’s god-complex. He doesn’t think any rules apply to him or his department.
Not long after Wirthman was hired in 2006, he began disciplining and eventually running off officers whom he suspected of having talked with this newspaper about controversial JPD matters. He apparently detests reporters and any kind of public oversight of “his” police department, a department paid for by the taxpayers of Jefferson.
Wirthman also inserted himself deeply into state’s efforts last year to get indictments against his predecessor, Darren Glenn. Wirthman was a cheerleader for the state in that failed effort. When it all fell apart in December, Wirthman looked foolish. He should never have been involved in the first place.
But it’s the sheer hypocrisy of the Backelant situation that reflects so poorly on Wirthman’s leadership. Last July, Wirthman defended his demotion of a long-time officer by saying he wanted people “cross-trained.”
“Officers need to be trained and cross-trained in different areas so they can learn the different facets, so when the sergeant leaves town I can have somebody to take his place… I have people that are cross-trained that can do the job.”
Wirthman also took a shot at Glenn in his comments to the city council.
“You brought me in to make some of these changes,” he said. “What I found was an endemic problem with leadership, lack of training, never any documentation of anything. I could see where there were issues.”
But in light of the Backelant certification problem, that’s the pot calling the kettle black. Wirthman can’t talk about the lack of training in the past when he was the one who hired an uncertified man as his assistant. Moreover, Wirthman waited six months to have Backelant go to training and only acted then because of internal questions being raised about the lack of certification.
In short, Wirthman shouldn’t talk about the lack of leadership from the past when his own leadership on this matter is in doubt.
Wirthman has made no secret about his disdain for this newspaper and its independent reporting on the JPD. He’d love to yank our chain, if he could ever figure out a way to do it. He’s made that very clear.
But we don’t cower to intimidation. We report the truth as we see it. We have sources that know what’s really going on. It’s our job to ask questions and to probe into how government agencies are managed.
Gus Backelant may have been a good cop in Michigan. But he isn’t certified in Georgia and he was unable to pass the basic state training class required of every other cop working for the JPD.
That seriously undermines his leadership effectiveness and creates a liability issue for the city.
Wirthman didn’t want the citizens of Jefferson to know about any of that. Now they do. Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson Herald. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
Do research before speaking out
It’s good that so many people have shown an interest in the recent case involving allegations of abuse at a Nicholson puppy mill. The bad thing is that some of this interest has led to unfounded rumors, speculation and accusations against some of those who intervened in this case to help.
Here’s a look at some of that misinformation:
1. The county allows and encourages puppy mills.
Not true. The county government has little control over animal breeding operations and unless a complaint is filed, law enforcement officials also have little control. There are no county agencies that oversee animal care or breeding and those businesses are not regulated by county officials.
2. The county didn’t act quickly enough in this case.
Not true. After the complaint was filed, the county and state agriculture officials reacted within a few days. First, the complaint had to be verified; after it was verified, arrangements had to be made for the care of the 300 dogs on the site before any kind of legal action could be taken against the owners. The county did not ignore the complaint and took action within a reasonable time.
3. The animals are being left in “limbo” by the county.
Not true. The animals were confiscated quickly after the complaint was filed and have been taken care of since that time, including medical care. But the dogs involved are private property until the court rules otherwise; they cannot just be given away by the county, as some have suggested. A court hearing is scheduled for Thursday on this issue.
4. The people running the puppy mill are not being punished.
Not true. They have been arrested and charged and await court hearings. As with all criminal cases, that won’t happen quickly.
Everyone is upset about the reports of abuse from this puppy mill. But those who seek to blame various officials or agencies for the problem, or who see some kind of conspiracy, are wrong. It’s obvious from some of the accusations being made about this case that many of those speaking out don’t understand how the legal system works.
Emotional outbursts, conspiracy rumors and ill-informed opinions will do nothing to further animal welfare in Jackson County.
If people really care about animal abuse issues, they should do a little research and understand the process before speaking in a public forum.
