Charles-Newton fires back at PD chief
WINDOW ROCK
Navajo Nation Chief of Police Phillip Francisco is stepping down from his position of more than five years at the end of December and part of his reasoning is the lack of support he received from the Navajo Nation government.
Navajo Times File | Donovan Quintero
Navajo Nation Police Chief Phillip Francisco on Aug. 22, 2016, after being sworn in.
A few major accomplishments during Francisco’s years as chief were an increase in pay for police officers and the re-establishment of the Navajo Police Training Academy. Both helped recruit and retain more officers.
He said most of what was done under his leadership was by himself and his staff with very little outside help.
He contributed part of this frustration directly to Navajo Nation Council delegates and the Law and Order Committee.
“Trying to move projects forward, the red tape, the bureaucracy of the Navajo Nation has stopped the ability for us to move forward any further,” Francisco said in an interview with Source NM.
“All the projects I did I was able to do internally,” he said, “with the staff and resources I have.”
Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton, chairperson of the Law and Order Committee, commented on Francisco’s claims in a press release.
She said the committee listened to the Navajo people who have said “crimes in their communities were never properly addressed under the leadership of Chief Phillip Francisco.”
She also said the Division of Public Safety has internal issues that need to be addressed and a federal audit investigation continues to hinder the division’s ability to apply for new federal funding to support the police department.
To end her quote, she said Chief Francisco “would rather speak to news reporters to get his points across” instead of keeping communication open.
Charles-Newton explained to the Times that Francisco never alerted the Law and Order Committee or the Council to inform them of his departure.
“Call me old fashioned,” she said, “but I think if the respect was there, he would have came before Council or, at the very least, sent an email, instead of informing the entire Navajo Nation via newspaper and in that same report, bash the leaders of the Navajo Nation.”
She said people leave employment with the Navajo Nation all the time and she has never seen anyone run to press to make the announcement and point fingers.
“Chain of command,” she said, “something he always preached to his officers, points to in-house, because he never came before Council, after throwing his badge to the Navajo Nation and said, ‘Let’s work together on this plan to address, combat the high crime rate on the Nation.’”
President Jonathan Nez addressed the claims Francisco made and while he was unaware of the article and the comments made by Francisco, he said they are supporting the work that occurred under Francisco.
“There’s so many needs to address plus a very large nation with much bureaucracy,” Nez said.
“I can see why people believe that the government is slow to address some of the needs in any program or division within the Navajo Nation government,” he said.
Highway 264,
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