VETERAN COP QUITS

Springfield Police Department's most experienced narcotics officer
resigned unexpectedly this week, saying that he feared retribution
for exposing the misconduct of other officers.

On Tuesday, Sgt. Ron Vose delivered a two-page letter outlining his
concerns to Mayor Tim Davlin's office and left another copy with
Chief Don Kliment. In the letter, Vose claimed that he was
transferred from his position as a supervisor in the Criminal
Investigations Division to patrol shortly after submitting a 20-page
memo alleging that administrative and criminal violations had been
committed by certain officers known to have "credibility issues."

Although Vose did not name the officers in his letter, several
sources inside SPD confirmed that Vose has been critical of SPD
Detectives Jim Graham and Paul Carpenter.

Last summer, SPD turned Vose's 20-page memo over to the Illinois
State Police Division of Internal Investigation. That probe is
ongoing, with no completion date promised. But in October, Carpenter
was placed on administrative leave and Graham was transferred from
what was then called the major-case unit into general investigations.

Contacted by phone Tuesday night, Vose declined to comment,

saying that his resignation doesn't take effect until Jan. 19. "I'm
still employed by the department, and I really can't [comment]," Vose
said. "My resignation speaks for itself; that's all I can really say."

However, another officer -- a supervisor in the Criminal
Investigations Division who spoke on the condition of anonymity --
defended Carpenter and Graham.

"They're great guys. They're hardworking detectives," the supervisor
said. "They feel that they were unfairly attacked by Ron Vose and his
accusations. These two have not been interviewed [by ISP]. These guys
have been left in the dark."

Vose spent much of his 27 years with SPD working undercover drug
operations, often with task forces composed of state or federal
law-enforcement agencies. With one task force, he negotiated a deal
that resulted in a 100-pound haul of cocaine. In July 2002, he took
charge of SPD's narcotics unit and over the next two summers staged
large-scale sting operations resulting in more than 80 arrests.

According to his resignation letter, Vose has been complaining to
Kliment about alleged misconduct since June 2004.

In April, soon after speaking to the mayor about his concerns, Vose
discovered packing boxes with his name on them left outside his
office door and interpreted it as an act of retribution.

"This was an apparent message for me to clean out my office," his
letter stated.

He was subsequently disciplined "without cause" he wrote, and
transferred to patrol. "These actions were obvious retaliation and
were meant to teach me a lesson about what happens to an officer who
exposes police misconduct," Vose wrote. "This will also serve as a
notice to anyone else who thinks about reporting misconduct."

Kliment denied retaliating against Vose. The chief suggested that
there's another side to the story but declined to comment further,
citing signs of pending litigation.

Vose mentioned several times in his letter that he has retained a
lawyer. Vose's attorney, Howard Feldman, acknowledged that Vose's
transfer to patrol did not cost him any rank or pay. Still, Feldman
says, the move punished Vose.

"He lost the status of being a supervisor in an investigations unit
- -- something he had done well over a long number of years -- and his
career was cut short," Feldman said.

Rumors of Vose's allegations against fellow officers have rippled
through the department for months. The apparent rift between the
former narcotics supervisor and the chief has puzzled veteran
officers, who recall a time when Kliment and Vose were both active in
the patrolmen's union, often working together for the same cause. For
the past decade or so, they have lived next door to each other, and
their families have been friends.

Vose resigned on his 49th birthday, a year shy of the age requirement
for retirement. Consequently, he won't be eligible for full benefits
until 2007.

"Even though my pension benefits will be significantly reduced by
this decision, I feel that this is the only way to avoid additional
retaliation," he wrote.

Davlin's only response was a brief statement issued by e-mail: "I am
saddened to learn that the city is losing the services of Sergeant
Vose. He is a personal friend of mine and has been a valued member of
the Springfield Police Department for over 27 years. He will truly be missed."