Is the chief a thief? Police union accuses chief of plagiarism; chief responds
Published 8:10 pm Thursday, November 9, 2017
The Port Arthur Police Association is accusing the city’s police chief, Patrick Melvin, of plagiarizing a statement from a Colorado police chief who was also the subject of a no confidence vote.
Melvin said he was only inspired by the other quote. He said he searched the Internet to find other chiefs in the same predicament and found one who was in a similar situation and used it as a basis of a statement to give to the media.
The association posted on its Facebook page the statement from the Denver Post, published Oct. 24, regarding the no confidence vote against the Denver chief Robert White.
“Having been a chief of police for 20 years, I understand that being chief can come with scrutiny from those who may disagree with decisions being made or fully understand all aspects of the position. During my time in Denver, we have focused on improving our policies and culture, and these changes have been met with resistance by some, however, it is my responsibility to make the right, and sometimes controversial decisions for the betterment of our department and city,” the Denver chief’s statement read.
Port Arthur Police Chief Melvin, in his comment published Nov. 6 on 12 News, said “During my time in Port Arthur, we have proactively and professionally focused on improving our policies and culture, and these changes have been met with resistance by some. However, it is my responsibility to make the right, and sometimes controversial, decisions for the betterment of our department and city.”
Melvin told the Port Arthur News in an email statement he will always reach out for assistance from others.
“After being aware of the vote of no confidence here in Port Arthur, I researched the Internet to find other chiefs in my same predicament,” Melvin said. “Although there were several, the Denver police chief’s situation seemed almost identical to the situation here in Port Arthur when referring to scrutiny as a result of accountability. I used almost the same public response and statement as the chief since it seemed to mirror our situation here.”
