Former Dayton Police Major Barbara Temple is white.  She spent 27 years of honorable service with the Dayton, Ohio police department.  In 2002 she was a strong and well-qualified candidate to become Chief of the Dayton PD.

          I put quotation marks around "Chief" (above) because Mr. William McManus, as it turns out, never was officially "chief" of the Dayton PD.  Since McManus was not certified or licensed as a police officer in Dayton as required by applicable Dayton regulations he was therefore only an "administrator" of police.  "Chief" McManus never attended the 200 hours of classes required to become licensed as a Dayton police officer. 

          Nonetheless, and against Dayton regulations, McManus inisted on wearing the uniform of a licensed, certified police officer.  Only licensed, certified police officers are allowed to wear the uniform in Dayton.  As an unlicensed, uncertified "director of police" McManus could not even legally make an arrest, write a ticket or wear the uniform. 

          Former "chief" McManus' defenders would have us believe that none of that matters because he is alleged to have been "a hell of an administrator" -- and because he supported forced diversity in the Dayton PD.  (On the record McManus professed not to know about Dayton's regulations which prohibited him from wearing the official police uniform.)

          After "chief" McManus fired white officer Barbara Temple, and after she filed a reverse discrimination lawsuit, "chief" William McManus had the temerity to testify at trial that Ms. Temple's race had nothing to do with her firing.   But the court record -- and the jury decision -- shows that Mr. McManus strongly preferred black officers and that his alleged reasons for firing Barbara Temple were specious, simple-minded attempts to disguise his racial quota agenda of adding more black officers to the Dayton police force.

          "Chief" McManus has since landed in the San Antonio, Texas police department.  God help any citizens of San Antonio who believe that the "law" should be enforced equally and without prejudice for all citizens without regard to race, gender, national origin, or ethnicity.

Commentary and Analysis
by Tim Fay
Adversity.Net

Excerpt from MySanAntonio.Com's
09-08-06 story by Vianna Davila

          "McManus returned to San Antonio on Wednesday night. He released a written statement Thursday in which he expressed disappointment at the outcome of the case but also stood by his choice to fire Temple.  'The decision to terminate an appointed member of my command staff was within my scope of authority and was not based in any way on race,' the statement read.

          "The chief's attorney also argued McManus felt Temple would 'not be a good fit' for his command staff and that he 'did not feel comfortable' with her as part of his executive team, court records show.

          "The agreement between his and Temple's attorneys states she will be reinstated to the police force until Nov. 30 -- the date when her retirement benefits would have maxed out, had she remained with the department.

          "The city will pay Temple around $1.2 million, when front and back pay wages, plus pension monies, are factored into the settlement, Brannon said.

         "Dayton's five-person commission, similar to a city council, discussed the agreement Wednesday night and 'reached, I guess, a consensus' but did not officially vote on any settlement, Dayton Public Affairs Director Tom Biedenharn said.

          "Temple hoped to rejoin the force again full time but said Thursday the city refused to take her back and wouldn't negotiate on that point.

          " 'They (the city) paid her in order not to go back,' [her attorney, Dwight] Brannon said.

          "For [Barbara] Temple, her reinstatement may have mattered little to making up for the past four years.  'My dreams and my hopes and my career, my effort ... all that was just kicked to the side with no regard to the service that I had given to the community or continue to give to the community,' said Temple, who lost a bid for Dayton mayor in 2005 and now consults part time with law enforcement agencies.

          "In her original suit filed in 2002, Temple, who's white, cited race and gender discrimination by the Police Department.  She said McManus, against whom she unsuccessfully vied to become Dayton's police chief, fired her 'with the intent to replace her with African American males,' according to court records.

          "A judge threw out Temple's case in 2003, stating she was an at-will employee eligible for termination at any time. The case was sent to an appeals court and later reopened in 2005.

          "Before coming to a verdict last Friday, jurors were told they only had to decide if race 'was a determining factor and not the determining factor' in her termination from the force, court documents show.

          "They found it was.

          "Current Dayton Police Chief Julian Davis wouldn't comment on the settlement or McManus' involvement with the case though he said diversification of the rank and file was something the pair had discussed.

          "McManus hired Davis, who is black, out of Greensboro, N.C. as his assistant chief in 2002.

          " 'This (police work) has historically and traditionally been a white, male position and job,' Davis said. 'It's not hard to recruit white males.'

          "About 91 percent of the Dayton Police Department is white; and the force counts only four black females among its 445 officers, [Dayton's current black chief] Davis said. A 2005 American Community Survey, which includes people living in households, said African Americans make up about 45.4 percent of the population of Dayton.

          Davis, who was originally hired by McManus into the Dayton PD said that McManus "is a fine human being who cares about his community and cares deeply about his officers that work for him."

-- Excerpts from the San Antonio Express News
09-08-06 story by Vianna Davila
Last known link:
MySanAntonio.Com

Excerpts from the Sept. 5, 2006
Dayton Daily News Story by Rob Modic

          "On Wednesday, the jury will hear additional testimony about the amount of damages Temple deserves for her wrongful discharge.

          "The jury found Friday that former Dayton Police Chief William McManus and former interim City Manager John Thomas are individually liable, in addition to the city of Dayton.

          "Judge G. Jack Davis of Montgomery County Common Pleas Court previously ruled the city had presented legitimate reasons for dismissing Temple.  The jury, however, was instructed to determine if the 'legitimate reasons' were pretextual as cover for illegal motivations or simply true.

          "Attorney Dwight Brannon, representing Temple, told the jury that the true reason Temple lost her job was that McManus was creating diversity among his command staff.   'He terminated her to meet diversity goals,' Brannon said.

          "[Temple's attorney, Dwight Brannon] suggested in his closing remarks that jurors could infer McManus' true reason for firing Temple from several actions, including McManus' announcement of a racial profiling policy.  'He wants to announce to the community that race is a big part of his command,' Brannon said, according to a recording of the trial.

          [Barbara Temple's attorney, Dwight] "Brannon said [City Manager John] Thomas had the 'ultimate authority' over McManus, but he 'did nothing.' 

          "Six of the eight jurors signed each of the three interrogatory and three verdict forms. A seventh juror, inexplicably, signed only the verdict form finding against McManus.

          "After about two years in Dayton, McManus left his job to take a chief's job in Minneapolis. In April, McManus started a job as police chief in San Antonio."

-- Excerpted from the Dayton Daily News
Sept. 5, 2006 story by Rob Modic
Last known link:
Dayton Daily News 09/05/06
(Registration Required)

Excerpts from the Sept. 10, 2006
San Antonio Express-News Story
by Ken Rodriguez

          "From 2002 through 2004, McManus dressed like Dayton's top cop. He talked like it, acted like it, played the part so well he even got sued.

          "However unreasonable the requirements, certification flared during the recent reverse discrimination trial in Dayton. Former Police Maj. Barbara Temple, an Anglo, contended McManus unjustly fired her and replaced her with three African American men.

          "A jury upheld her claim. Temple walked away with $1.2 million, McManus with a defiant attitude: I did nothing wrong.

          "Dayton's former director of police [McManus] insisted he fired Temple, in part, for insubordination. One day, while cleaning her office, Temple failed to wear her uniform as required.  Temple's lawyer, Dwight Brannon, found the charge ironic. In court, Brannon got McManus to admit he'd never been certified as chief.

          "Officers might wonder why McManus elected to wear a uniform and carry a gun in Dayton if he wasn't certified. McManus says he didn't know there was such a prohibition. Dayton cops say he should have known. Many made a big deal about it.

          "After McManus' legal defeat, [San Antonio] city officials rushed to his defense." [Adversity.Net Note:  San Antonio, Texas is where McManus ended up after his shameful reverse discrimination against Barbara Temple in Dayton, Ohio.]   "That was then, this is now, they said. McManus has lifted SAPD's morale. He has initiated tough, crime-fighting measures. He's moving the department in the right direction.

          "Unspoken in the spin was this: McManus may have learned some hard lessons.

          "In Minneapolis, [after he fled from the Dayton, Ohio PD] McManus got certified. He became a real police chief.

          "In San Antonio [where McManus fled after his brief tenure in Minneapolis which was after his debacle in Dayton, Ohio], McManus is studying to get his peace officer's license. Which is why you never see him in uniform. Until he passes a 250-question test (certification is less demanding in Texas), McManus cannot holster a gun or wear a badge.

          "As one official with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education put it, 'You can call him the 'chief,' but he's really the administrator.' 

          " 'Administrator McManus' doesn't have quite the ring of 'chief.' But I suppose it fits since he works in plainclothes.

          "I'm not sure what kind of director McManus was in Dayton, but he's been one heck of an administrator here [in San Antonio, TX]. That's the view of the rank-and-file.

          " 'They should erect a bronze statue of McManus and stick it in front of the [San Antonio] police department,' one detective told me over lunch recently.  A second detective nodded. Officers love McManus because he shoved Jerry Pittman -- an unpopular assistant chief -- into early retirement. They also love him because he hasn't brought sudden, reckless change to the department.

          "Make no mistake -- Dayton needed to [forcibly] diversify. African Americans constitute nearly 45 percent of the city's population. When McManus arrived, the police department was 88 percent Anglo.  [Sub text: white police officers cannot police minorities and therefore must be replaced by minority officers.  tjf]

          "McManus' intent to add officers of color was good, his execution poor. In the name of [forced] diversity, he fired a competent Anglo major [Barbara L. Temple], a woman who had been a finalist for chief. Last week, Dayton learned a $1.2 million lesson. But what did McManus learn?

          "Before the settlement had been reached, informed officers here [in San Antonio] said McManus wanted to replace Pittman, an African American, with a black female. A lieutenant.

          "The union contract prohibits such a move, but a proposal is on the table that would allow a lieutenant to leap over captains and deputy chiefs to the No. 2 position.

          "It matters little if McManus gets his badge in San Antonio. It will matter a lot if he repeats the mistake of Dayton."xxx

-- Excerpted from the San Antonio Express-News
Sept. 10 2006 story by Ken Rodriguez
Last known link:
San Antonio Express-News 09-10-06

Firing May Cost $1.2 Million

Excerpts from the Sept. 8, 2006
KSAT-TV Story

POSTED: 9:54 am CDT September 8, 2006 KSAT-TV

DAYTON, Ohio -- "San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said Thursday that he disagreed with a jury's decision in a discrimination lawsuit when he was police chief in Dayton, Ohio.

          "On Sept. 1, a Montgomery County Ohio Common Pleas Court jury found that Barbara Temple, who is white and had 27 years on the force, had been the victim of racial discrimination when she was fired in 2002 by McManus.

          "Also on Thursday, the Dayton City Commission agreed to pay Temple about $1.2 million to settle her lawsuit accusing the city of firing her for racial reasons, Andrea Ostrowski, another attorney for the woman, said.

          "The settlement with Temple includes cash, back pay and a contribution to her pension fund, Ostrowski said.

          "Attorney Edward Dowd, who is representing [Dayton's late, former non-chief] McManus ... said McManus had justifiable reasons for removing Temple.

          [Defense Attorney Edward] "Dowd said Temple once wore civilian clothes after McManus had ordered all officers to wear uniforms [NOTE: she was cleaning her office at the time.   Editor], that she failed to follow up on a complaint a week after he referred it to her and that she was insubordinate when she shook her head during a staff meeting about McManus' pursuit policy [which hyper-sensitive chief McManus took as insubordination.  Get a LIFE, McManus!  Editor].

          "McManus left Dayton in 2004 to take the police chief's job in Minneapolis and left that job this year for San Antonio."

-- Excerpted from the KSAT-TV
Sept. 8, 2006 story
Last known link:
KSAT-TV.Com