FOP vote of confidence bombs on itself as police support of Chief Williams drops to the ground

Turns out the number of unhappy coppers is quite a bit higher than the one or two disgruntled employees that the chief and the mayor keep talking about -- 40% of the department doesn't support the chief or her new replacement good 'ol boy network
.
Only 60% of eligible voters in the police union support the current Venice Police Department's administration, this according to a vote of confidence held this past Friday by the Venice chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.

What's more, nearly half of that 60% of stated administration supporters are themselves supervisory members of the police administration, the same "administration" that was the primary subject of support on the ballot.

The vote was engineered by administrative staff at the VPD with the blessing of FOP chapter president Joe McGee. According to several, separate sources, Police Lieutenant Eric Hill was one of the lead organizers, reportedly at the behest of the chief herself.

According to sources in the FOP membership, McGee stated that FOP leadership planned on releasing the results of the vote only if the vote was highly favorable to police management. When asked by FOP members during the vote as to what would happen if the results did not make the chief look good, McGee shrugged but would not answer.

So far, the results have not been officially released to the media. Venice Florida! dot com confirmed the vote numbers and details in this story with FOP members on condition of anonymity.

As to the wording of the ballot, some union supporters of the chief were reportedly worried that if the vote was aimed directly at Police Chief Julie Williams, then it might look as a defensive reaction on the part of Williams that might, in turn, make her appeear weak and cause low voting numbers of support.

Thus, instead of voting in direct support of the chief, the vote was worded as "Do you support the current Venice Police adminstration?"

Of 49 possible votes, only 29, or roughly only 60%, voted yes in support of the chief and her administration.

16 nay votes were cast. 4 members abstained from voting.

Of the four abstentions, one refused to vote because he just wanted to avoid the question entirely; one abstained because he claimed he was new and hadn't made up his mind yet. Venice Florida! dot com hasn't determined the reasons yet for the last two abstentions.

Even more telling, according to police sources: 29% of the eligible voters (14 members) are supervisors (sergeants and above) who would fall under the category of the "administration" that they were being asked their opinion about. In other words, 29% of the voting bloc were being asked if they supported themselves.

Williams, Mayor Ed Martin, and City Manager Isaac Turner have repeatedly made statements that Williams is universally supported and that only a small number of disgruntled officers were unhappy with her.

The numbers, as determined by the FOP, tell a decidedly different story. With only 60% of the department stating support in Williams (and support of 14 of her supervisors), the numbers talk of a serious rift that would spell corporate civil war in any private sector small company.