EPD CHIEF BILLY BOLIN APOLOGY LETTER TO EDNA MILAN

1. Poorly written. Battery’s?

2. “APOLOGIES WITH JUSTIFICATION RING HOLLOW”
   Do The Right Thing

   Ms Milan and her Granddaughter were damaged beyond repair. So was the reputation of Evansville and her Police Department. To insure that these kinds of mistakes or demonstrations of reckless power are not repeated, substantial remuneration for personal damages and punitive awards should go to both victims in this incident. IMHO: Mr Winnecke should cease his unquestioning and unflattering support for Mr Bolin. Mr Bolin should tender a Public Apology to the victims of this incident and to the Residents of Evansville and step down with some measure of respectability. Mr Winnecke should then issue a “Public Statement of Commitment to Honor the Rights and Dignity of all Evansville Residents.” Only then should Someone with proper credentials, training and reputation, be appointed to Evansville’s new Police Chief.

   Let us put this ugly and embarrassing chapter in Evansville’s History behind us – and move forward. …

   • Yep, he basically said I’m sorry but you live in a rough neighborhood so it was justified. Answer me in all honesty, would this raid have happened if the address was in a nice lily white neighborhood? I think not.

   • Well said. This very unfortunate incident has scared the reputation of our City reaching the United Kingdom and all points in between. Our fine police officers have been placed in the category of the Keystone Kops, a version of the Three Stooges and in the eyes of corporate American a community with racial tensions. What is so concerning? Well, sources have indicated that Chief Bolin failed to tell the truth in deposition when asked if he was at the location and in fact, he was there and failed to fully inform the Judge who issued the warrant that an unsecured Wi-Fi was evident in the area. Apparently this event appears to have been a publicity stunt which with bad.

   • Well said, bubba. Two citizens were severely traumatized in their own homes by the police, then suffer the indignation of having to sue the police to receive proper remediation.

3. If Bolin really believed that he had no other option than to do what he did, he should be fired for incompetence. If he didn’t, he should be fired for lying. In either case, he should be fired for embarrassing the City and causing yet another suit against the City.

   • Yep he should be fired

4. Mr. Bolin was simply following the accepted standard. Looking to what the big boys are doing. However, have you heard of the brain drain. Most organizations will have a national search to fill important positions. Well someone has to step up to be a leader to mold their industry and Evansville city government seems to have mostly followers. We even have to look to Detroit to come up with a plan to fight blight. I think most departments are looking to the big cities for answers when they should be studying and focusing on what would work for a small city like Evansville. This is not Detroit or Chicago. Maybe there is something to that brain drain thing.

5. Both sides are in the wrong here. Let’s start with the facts of what happened. The threats were transmitted from an open wireless network that belonged to Ms. Milan, not a password protected network. It was Ms. Milan’s responsibility to ensure her network couldn’t be used by other individuals to make threats or for other illegal purposes, and she failed to do that. Not only do she fail to do that; she failed to even try to do that.

   Think of it another way. If you left the keys in your car and your car parked, and someone borrowed your car to go John Dillinger on a bank, then returned your car without your knowledge, what do you think is going to happen if the police pull you over later in the day?

   Then, Bolin came along and acted like a fool. The proper response was to actually determine what threats you truly face. Is the person one of those types of people who hide behind a keyboard or actually carry out their threats? The proper response was to gather intelligence, a word that is obviously illusive to Bolin, both figuratively and literally. Had that occurred, the size and scope of the raid would have been dramatically scaled down.

   To compound matters, Bolin’s statements in this case are not what you do when you are suppose to be a leader. Leaders accept responsibility for their mistakes, learn from them, and then seek to apply the lessons. Bolin has attempted to avoid responsibility by pinning the blame on others and attempting to minimize his role in all of this, which is totally unprofessional.

   No one’s an angel here, but Ms. Milan is seeking $15 million, which will be paid for by the taxpayers if she gets what she is seeking. To me, that seems over the top to say the least when she had some culpability in bringing the police to her house due to her actions in failing to protect the network. However, the police department can’t be allowed to be “led” if that’s what you call Bolin’s activity as Chief for his overreaction in lieu of smart policing.

   As a result, I would propose the following as the proper outcome for a situation such as this. Bolin resigns. The city should not be on the hook to continue to pay him whatever is left on his contract when he has behaved so poorly, which is why a resignation is preferable to a firing. Ms. Milan should get damages to her home, medical expenses incurred, and any other direct damages, but no punitive damages. Her actions were not 100% clean either, and considering her neighbors will be the ones footing the bill for any settlement, I cannot see paying her the full punitive damage bill of $15 million. The only circumstance I can see punitive damages for a neighbor is when that neighbor is 100% in the clear; she is not.

   • Excellent summation.

     I just have one minor disagreement and that is regarding the punitive damages. Yes I agree $15M is WAY over the top but that almost certainly the attorney talking not Ms. Milan.

     However, I think the City has to pay a price for their part in this. Just another example of how being politically connected is nearly the only thing that counts in Evansville. Nothing wrong with being politically savvy, that’s the way the world works, except you should be competent also. and there is a big difference in being politically savvy and in being an obsequious bootlicker. In Evansville that’s pretty much all that matters.

     Also I’m sick and tired of policemen and police departments acting like a toxic combination of Rambo, Dirty Harry, and Charles Bronson. I’m also tired of hearing how “tough” their job is and them wiping their feet on the 4th amendment.

     NOTHING is going to change until officers and their department heads start being held responsible. Some amount of money, pound of flesh, etc. needs to be removed or else this will keep happening over and over again, just like it is all over the country.

     • Your pound of flesh with tax dollars does as part of a punitive settlement is not punitive to the police department. The city will tax more to cover the bill, and the pound of flesh is taken from the citizens, not the police. Making Bolin take a walk of shame is a pound of flesh that actually sends a message.

6. Louise used to work for me. She was a very competent woman. She was a pleasure to work with. She was personable, well regarded by her peers, and someone who could be any of your friends or neighbors.

   There is absolutely no justification for what she has been put through. Listen to the video clips of the police actions in this assault on her home. She deserves complete compensation for what she has been put through. And if the city tax payers don’t like that expense, they should seek redress from the perpetrators in the police department who undertook this heinous action against her and her family.

7. Chief Bolin and EPD are not perfect. Overall Chief Bolin and the EPD do a very good job.

   Wayne Parke

   • He went over the top. He took a threat personally, did not act professionally by gathering the requisite intelligence prior to entering, and then misrepresented his involvement in court filings. That is beyond not perfect. That’s pink slip material. If the mayor were honest in lieu of worrying about the political fallout in an election year, Bolin would have already been canned like Starkist Tuna.

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