IBPO Holds Press Conference, Chattanooga Mayor Back-Pedals on Cruiser Take-Home Policy
September 10, 2009
Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield appeared to back-pedal 
on his demand that police officers begin paying the city to take their cruisers home, following a meeting Tuesday with National President David Holway and a subsequent press conference at the City Council Building, where Holway called the mayor's new policy a "huge mistake."
In the meeting with the mayor, which was also attended by Local 673 President Phil Grubb and member Zach McCollough, Mayor Littlefield verbally acknowledged that his executive order was a temporary measure and agreed to rescind it if the city council found adequate savings in other areas.
At the IBPO press conference 30 minutes later, which was heavily covered by news stations and print and online media, President Holway called on the mayor to "admit to his mistake" and to rescind the order. He also put on record the mayor's statement about the "temporary" nature of the policy.
At the council meeting Tuesday evening, councilors expressed their willingness to work with Local 673 to arrive at a fair resolution.
Earlier in the week, the IBPO began running a radio ad declaring that the mayor's order would have the effect of taking police off streets and out of neighborhoods, where the presence of a patrol car goes a long way toward deterring crime. The union says most officers simply can’t afford the extra $100-$150 a month the city wants under the new order, and that the policy "will force officers to leave their cruisers idled at the station."