Hosey: Three new deputy chiefs, but why stop there?

The mayor got to appoint the councilman he wanted, which cleared the way for him to get the city manager he wanted, and from there he was able to get rid of the police chief he didn’t seem to want around anymore.

And then the new police chief, Dawn Malec, demoted three of the department’s four deputy chiefs, maybe since she figured that would be a good idea. Or maybe because she thought it was something the mayor wanted.

The demoted deputy chiefs — Darrell Gavin, Marc Reid and Joe Rosado — were replaced by Lt. Robert Brown, Lt. Sherrie Blackburn and Sgt. Carlos Matlock.

Deputy Chiefs Brown, Blackburn and Matlock all appear to be more than qualified for their new roles and will surely perform admirably. Still, it seems as if a great opportunity was wasted, although it’s certainly not too late to set things right.

While these new deputy chiefs may be the best people for the job, there are so many more out there with the potential to help improve the Joliet Police Department.

These human resources can be found not only working right now within the department, but also among the ranks of the retired.

And even if these additional candidates weren’t made deputy chiefs, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility to think a whole new rank could have been created for them, perhaps director of public safety, or even colonel.

Take retired Patrol Officer Brian Nagra, for example. Nagra might be facing felony charges in Kendall County, but there’s no disputing that he wasn’t afraid of putting in the long hours it took to get the job done. At least on paper, as he allegedly claimed thousands of dollars in overtime which he may or may not have worked.

And then there’s noted whistleblower Lt. Javier Esqueda, who allegedly leaked a video of a man named Eric Lurry overdosing on drugs in the back of a squad car.

Esqueda supposedly did this to thwart a coverup, even though Lurry’s death was already the subject of an investigation conducted by the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force. Esqueda’s own department, on the other hand, reported that witnesses told of Esqueda mentioning his plans to use the video for his own benefit, with one recalling how he boasted of employing it as a “Trump Card” if he was disciplined in connection with an unrelated incident.

Esqueda ran into some trouble for his actions, as he is currently suspended and also facing felony charges in Kendall County. But good luck finding somebody anywhere near his equal when it comes to blowing a whistle. No, when it comes to whistleblowing, Esqueda looks like he’s in a class by himself.

Even more so than Nagra and Esqueda, it’s hard to fathom how retired Patrol Officer Joe Clement failed to land a command staff spot, perhaps as Deputy Chief of Alcohol Enforcement, considering how he determined that now retired police Sgt. Lindsey Heavener was drunk on duty, according to a memo penned by the former police chief.

Clement reportedly managed this despite Heavener somehow coming up clean on blood and urine tests. It’s almost as if Clement had some sort of sixth sense, a superpower, if you will, one that was even more effective than average, run-of-the mill scientific testing.

Expanding the command staff to make room for these three, and possibly more, is nothing short of brilliant. Or at least it couldn’t hurt. And who knows? It might even be something the mayor would want.

• Joe Hosey is the editor of the Herald-News. You can reach him at 815-280-4094, at jhosey@shawmedia.com or on Twitter @JoeHosey.