(Austin, Texas) A veteran police commander has been suspended for 20 days for demonstrating "personal bias" toward gay officers and a second commander who did not report the remark and then refused to take a suspension for it has been fired.
Cmdr. Calvin Smith, a 34 year veteran of the force and the newly appointed supervisor of the Austin police training academy, told outgoing supervisor Cmdr. Larry Oliver that he was worried about the "kind of message" the potential transfer of a gay female officer would send at the academy the Austin American Statesman reported.
Smith later denied the woman a transfer to his command. Oliver, following that, mentioned the conversation that Smith had had with him to another female officer and a complaint was filed with internal affairs.
Smith agreed to a 20 day suspension but Oliver refused to accept a 30-day suspension for not reporting the incident.
He was subsequently fired. It is not known if he will appeal.
"We hold our commanders to the highest standards, which were not met in this case," Assistant Police Chief David Carter, is the department's chief of staff, told The Statesman.
The Austin police officer who complained that a commander discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation wrote in a memo to top police officials that she was "horrified" at the severity of the punishment offered to a second commander for not reporting it.
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