8 more leave Vallejo police
2 former cadets among latest to take jobs at other departments
By ANDREA WOLF/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 06/13/2008 07:21:58 AM PDT
The Vallejo Police Department's future once included young men and women, like Josh Coleman, who invested thousands of hours in a cadet program in hopes of an eventual job as a Vallejo cop.
But the city's fiscal crisis prompted Coleman and other cadets-turned-officers to look to more fiscally sound departments to finish out their police careers. Coleman's last day was June 5.
Police officials note that the first wave of officers that left earlier this year were mostly long-time employees worried about getting their retirement benefits as the city moved toward bankruptcy. But now younger officers are joining the exodus.
As of this week, eight more officers have either left - or will leave in the coming days - leaving the department with 124 officers to keep the city's nearly 120,000 people safe.
Authorities said that is the lowest number of officers the department has had in about 20 years.
Vallejo Cpt. Dave Jackson said there likely will be more people leaving as the city's march toward bankruptcy progresses. He said about 30 officers are actively looking at other agencies.
Vallejo police officer salaries have been a topic of contention during the bankruptcy crisis, but now the department is seeing their younger officers leave for less pay at more fiscally stable agencies.
"It's not all about the money. It's obvious from the portion of people leaving for lower paying jobs that it has to do with the way people are being treated by the city," said Detective Mat Mustard, vice president of the Vallejo Police Officers Association.
Two officers leaving for Napa Police Department jobs graduated from the Vallejo cadet program, which officials say has been a vital way to train young applicants.
But with little city funding and each officer being stretched thinner with continuing vacancies, this program might see some changes along with the rest of the agency.
The cadet program - started about 12 years ago by Capt. Lori Lee - used to be the only way a young officer could enter the force without first paying dues at another agency and trying to come in as a lateral officer.
The cadet program requires a commitment of 20 hours a week for at least two years and the cadet must be working on a bachelor's degree.
Cadets are paid an hourly wage that tops out at $14.50 an hour with no benefits, and work 1,050 hours a year, Lee said. After graduating college, the department pays to send cadets to the Oakland Police Department, which can cost about $10,000 per student, she said.
But the real incentive was the agreement that there would be an officer's position with VPD for the cadet after they graduated, Lee said.
"This program has been a way for the department to recruit and groom younger people, many from the community and with an attachment to Vallejo," Lee said. "But we don't know what will happen to it as the rest of the department continues to be collapsed."
Lee said the two cadets currently in the police academy are considering jobs with other agencies since there is no guarantee Vallejo can hire them anytime soon.
Every six months the cadets train with a different division, such as investigations, patrol or youth services. However, with the dissolution of many special operations to maintain a proper number of patrol officers, cadets no longer have the varied training options once available, Lee said.
"The rest of the department puts a huge investment into each of the cadets with the idea they may be future beat partners," Lee said, adding that officers do much of the cadet training on their own time.
With the department lacking the ability to attract qualified lateral officers, and being unable to provide the incentive of a job to cadets, Vallejo police will have trouble hiring when the time comes, Lee said.
Police officials said they are modifying their hiring procedure and will most likely be getting less experienced officers to fill gaps left by veterans.
"Getting in the Vallejo police cadet program was a dream come true for me," said Officer Josh Coleman, who left Vallejo for a job with Napa Police Department after four years as a cadet and about a year as a sworn officer. "I had no idea what police officers made. I just saw this as a fit for my personality."
Coleman, 25, said he stumbled on the cadet program after meeting now retired Lt. Kevin Kelley, who told him about the opportunity at one of the Wednesday Night Celebrations downtown.
Coleman said he hadn't planned on college and at first was daunted by the requirement that a cadet receive a bachelor's degree before they could be hired.
"I made working for the Vallejo Police Department my personal goal," Coleman said. "There were a lot of times I wanted to quit. I was making $12 an hour and commuting to Vallejo from Sonoma State University and barely paying my bills. I saw a lot of ads for other departments that would hire me without a BA, but I wanted to work for this city."
However, as the city's financial problems grew, Coleman, who has a young family at home, realized there was too much instability in Vallejo, and he had to leave.
"Working with this caliber of experienced officers has been a privilege for me and I feel I have had a chance to learn more in my year on the force that I would have in five years with another agency," Coleman said. "But, I need to make sure my family and livelihood is maintained."
The cadet program lost a significant amount of city funding in 2003/2004. Lee said the effort has been kept afloat by donations, sponsorship and money from Lennar Mare Island in exchange for cadets patrolling Mare Island. The city does provide a small amount of money to pay for cadets who patrol some city buildings, Lee said.
