Reed’s pick for APD chief raises questions in some circles

OK, I realize my headline is vague and weaselly, two things that should be avoided even in a blog post. But the deal is today’s announcement of George Turner as our permanent police chief will unavoidably confirm suspicions inside the APD and out that the months-long selection process may have simply been for show and that Turner was the mayor’s choice all along.

Since at least April, Stephanie Ramage over at the Sunday Paper has been writing about how the fix was in for interim Chief Turner’s eventual appointment as our permanent police chief.

Now, Stephanie may be a little too eager to embrace conspiracy theories, but the facts she cited as evidence were essentially on target.

First off, after being appointed interim chief in January, Turner announced a number of promotions within the APD. Rank-and-file cops seemed to interpret the fact that an “acting chief” was allowed to make personnel changes in such unilateral fashion to be a signal that he had the inside track on the job. I can’t fault that logic.