FORT SMITH - A former Detroit detective and the president and CEO of a non-profit organization that provides training on violence prevention for law enforcement was hired by the city of Fort Smith to fill what was supposed to primarily be a grant writing position, but by the time that Harold Rochon was put on the payroll on September 5, the job had morphed into something completely different.
Rochon, who lasted three days before resigning his new position on September 8, now faces an investigation in Wayne County, Michigan over allegations that he used on-duty police officers to build a deck at his home, some of which were paid overtime wages during construction of the deck. He is currently free on $3,000 bond pending a courtroom appearance.
But those allegations, and the aborted three-day run with the FSPD, appear to be the mere type of the iceberg when you start tracking down the who, what, when and where of Rochon’s transition from the mean streets of Detroit to the chaotic mess that has become the fast lane of administrative upheaval in Fort Smith.
Inside Fort Smith filed a sweeping Freedom of Information Act request with city administration just before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday seeking information on the hiring process, hiring procedure and any and all emails that could be construed as having to do with city business pertaining to Rochon.
City administrator Carl Geffken acknowledged the request at 4:59 p.m.:
“Dennis,
We have received your email. We received a similar email from another entity and we have asked that they give us until Monday to provide this information. Please let me know if that is acceptable.
Thanks,
Carl E. Geffken
City Administrator
City of Fort Smith”
Inside Fort Smith agreed to give the city until close of business on Monday to respond to the request. That information will be reviewed and included in a follow-up story on Monday, but other information has come to light regarding the situation that needs no verification from the requested materials.
Geffen immediately went on the defensive during the email exchange.
“Chief Clark did not make the recommendation to hire,” Geffken said in one email. “You’ll see that in the information we will provide.”
Geffken told one area media outlet that the city did a thorough background investigation and polygraph “which we normally don’t do with civilian employees” although Inside Fort Smith has learned FSPD policy #1103.04 requires a polygraph of all non-sworn personnel. And although Geffken characterizes the position as a “civilian” hire, sources say Rochon had already been assign as a supervisor over the internal affair section of the department and at least two police officers were ordered to directly report to him in a law enforcement capacity.
The controversy over Clark attempting to bypass or usurp the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission in an effort to staff supervisory positions outside the department has been ongoing for months. Led by three city directors who have voted in lock-step to allow a Clark free hand in selecting departmental heads, the actions of the three resulted in a lawsuit being filed for violations of the Arkansas FOIA laws which apparently is headed to a courtroom.
But the perception of intentional manipulation of the system, and disregard for public interest, seems to be a reoccurring factor when it comes to promoting an agenda of department diversification Repeated emails from Director Andre’ Good to Geffken during the initial search that resulted in Clark becoming chief show a pattern of Good attempting to insert himself into the hiring process, even going as far as implying racism would be the only factor in determining whether Clark would be hired or not.
And now it appears that recent restructuring of the department may have been a premeditated move intended to help them achieve their goals.
In a May study session of this year, Police Chief Nathaniel Clark proposed a realignment of the administrative and supervisory positions within the FSPD looking to add seven lieutenant positions to the department while deleting four sergeants and three captain positions through “attrition and/or promotion.”
During the same study session, Clark also sought approval and funding for a newly created deputy director of administrative services, calling the position “unique in that it has “multi-managerial and administrative responsibilities and thereby will greatly enhance the department”.
Duties were to have included planning and research; grant research and acquisitions; oversight regarding the operations of the Office of Professional Standards; and day-to-day administrative duties like equipment and facilities modernization, policy and procedure management, labor relations, contingency and interoperability planning, administration, and budgeting.”
Clark requested a starting pay range of a minimum of $65,000 a year which was some $2900 more than an entry level captain would be paid as a Grade 15 employee. The position was to be funded through a mixture of “surplus police department funds and the city reserve fund balance” for the remainder of 2017 before becoming a budgeted position in 2018, according to Geffken.
At the next regular board meeting on May 16, Director Tracy Pennartz moved for adoption of the realignment, seconded by Director Andre Good and the measure passed unanimously with an emergency clause making it effective immediately. The passage of the measure also effectively dissolved the “waiting list” of officers looking for promotions
The second part of the proposal, motioned by Good and seconded by Director Mike Lorenz, also passed unanimously with an emergency clause.
Clark said he hoped to fill the position with 30-60 days.
The exact process of hiring for the position is currently unknown and was part of the FOIA request filed on Wednesday. However, Inside Fort Smith has learned that certain procedures and policy may have been bypassed and the position may have been created specifically and written with the addition of Rochon to the department already “penciled in” by Clark.
Whether or not any in-house employees were encouraged or allowed to apply for the position is unknown and subject to what the FOIA information reveals, however, sources say that in 2016 before taking over the day-to-day operations of the PD, Clark gave Rachon a guided tour of the department and provided him with copies of the department’s policies and procedures and organizational chart on electronic media.
It also appears that Clark and Rachon had connections through the latter’s non-profit organization The Target Group. An update on a professional monitoring website concerning The Target Group posted on August 28 listed Rochon as “president and CEO” of the organization, while Clark was listed among the “employees”.
Their paths also apparently crossed paths in 2010 as well when Clark worked for the police department in Albany, Georgia. Then-lieutenant Rochon of the Detroit department conducted a three-day seminar on violence prevention for law enforcement and gang prevention. Clark was the gang expert for New Albany department at the time. Inside Fort Smith has sent the New Albany Police Department a request for information on the cost of that program and who initially proposed it to the department.
The website for The Target Group was created September 30, 2009 and was updated as late as October 10, 2016. However, the site has gone “dark” within the last few months and attempts to access www.thetargetgroup.org are now met with a “404 error establishing a database connection” message.
Rochon’s career has not been without some controversy prior to the current misconduct allegations in Detroit.
In 2008, Rochon has named by a Detroit investigator as being in on an effort to stymie his investigation into connection between then Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s connections with a Kentucky drug dealer. Investigator Ira Rose said Rochon, who was his acting supervisor at the time, told him to stand down on the investigation and ordered him to take an “early vacation”.
“He kept saying, ‘This thing is bigger than you. Trust me, take your vacation, “, said Todd.
When Todd returned, he was transferred to a desk job and supervisors were told that he hadn’t properly documented his work in the case.
You can follow this link to read more on that case:
https://behindthebluewall.
