Former city IT employee protests termination of police officer

One week ago, I wrote a protest on corruption, harassment and employee dignity. From that protest, I dealt with a variety of reactions. Some praise, some astonished, some concerned, some chose to ask logical questions and some elected officials chose to make libel comments to undermine my protest.

I see many barriers to our small town government being legitimate representatives of its constituents. These barriers for the time being lead me to the conclusion that our government isn't doing everything it can to safeguard its citizens. Today, I want to talk about accountability and integrity. Integrity takes courage. I challenge every Maricopa City Council member on Sept. 20 to find this courage in himself or herself.

One of you led me to believe a little faith in our city may be in order, but most of you continue to show me how knee-jerk reactions rule your decision making processes.

Monday I watched as one of our police officers, Miller Dao, was drummed out of this town because he had demonstrated on multiple occasions that integrity ruled his decision making processes and not fear of punishment. Unfortunately with his termination, you set a precedence that you will not go to back your people if they are defending themselves. (For news story, click here.)

You have shown that other individuals can be involved in felonies, yet the ones that demonstrate personal courage and moral fortitude have had a tool for their safety taken from their hands. You have shown that if an officer defends himself and uses proper use of force, he or she will be punished, and possibly dismissed.