Federal Whistleblower - The Alarm Has Been Sounded

[HonestChief]

You may be aware that, as a 28-year veteran of law enforcement, I recently served as the head of one of the top uniformed Federal law enforcement agencies in this country – that is, until I unwittingly became a whistleblower.

 

Sometime after being permanently silenced in retaliation for speaking with a reporter, I prepared an op-ed, which is copied and pasted beneath this message. It was not prepared as an exclusive for any one media outlet or individual organization. The circumstances of this case and the impact on media and citizens across the United States make that impractical.

 

I hope that you will find a meaningful use for the document and that you will consider publishing it and/or passing it on to others in whatever forum you deem appropriate. Please know that I am available for interviews, guest appearances, and speaking engagements. My contact information is included below. You can read more about my case at www.honestchief.com and hear some of the previous stories posted by its webmaster as well as many of my recent media interviews in the audio library, accessed via a button at the top left of the home page.

 

Please consider keeping this story alive by informing others of these outrageous actions by Federal officials who should be concerned for your safety and who should be upholding the values of freedom of speech and honesty and integrity in government. Feel free to reach out to me for any additional information I can provide.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

Teresa Chambers

P.O. Box 857

Huntingtown, MD 20639

 

 

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Op-Ed

 

The plight of whistleblowers – those employees who sound the alarm about anything from dangerous conditions in the workplace to missed or ignored intelligence regarding our nation's security – is a story that seems to grow stronger and with more frequency every day. My guess is that those stories have always been there; I suspect I am just paying closer attention to them now.

 

You see, I joined the "ranks" of whistleblowers on December 2, 2003, when a major newspaper printed a story in which I confirmed for them what many of us already knew – we, the members of the United States Park Police, could no longer provide the level of service that citizens and visitors had grown to expect in our parks and on our parkways in Washington, D.C., New York City, and San Francisco. The world changed for all of us on September 11, 2001, and the expectations of police agencies across the country grew exponentially overnight. As the Chief of the United States Park Police, an organization responsible for the safety and security of some of America's most valued and recognizable symbols of freedom – including such notable sites as the Washington Monument, the Statue of Liberty, and the Golden Gate Bridge area – I knew it was my duty, as chiefs of police across the country do every day, to inform the community of the realities of the situation.

 

For being candid – for being "honest" – while still being supportive of my superiors, I was, without warning, stripped of my law enforcement authority, badge, and firearm, and escorted from the Department of the Interior by armed special agents of another Federal law enforcement entity in December of 2003. Seven months later, the Department of the Interior terminated me.

 

Frighteningly, the issues I brought to light about our citizens' and visitors' safety and security and the future of these American icons have not been addressed – other than to silence me. In fact, there are fewer United States Park Police officers today than there were in 2003 when I was sent home for daring to say that we weren't able to properly meet our commitments with existing resources. Other security concerns I raised internally have also gone un-addressed.

 

Imagine the outcry if I had stayed silent and if one of those symbolic monuments or memorials had been destroyed or the loss of life had occurred to someone visiting one of those locations. I did not want to be standing with my superiors among the ruins of an American icon or in front of a Congressional committee trying to explain why we hadn't asked for help.

 

Despite the serious First Amendment and security implications of my case for each American, there has been no Congressional intervention, no Congressional hearing, no demand of accountability by elected officials for those who took action to silence me and who have ignored all warnings about the perils to which I alerted them. Through it all, it has become clear that Federal employees have little protection for simply telling the truth. Following my termination and the publicity that accompanied it, it is unlikely that any current Federal employee will be willing to speak up with straightforward, accurate information about the realities of any danger we face now or in the future.

 

My story is told on a website, www.honestchief.com, established by my husband in December 2003 so that the American people could "witness" the issues in this case. Through the webmaster’s regular updates, the website has provided transparency to my situation by including an audio library and making key documents available for viewing, including the transcripts of depositions of top officials and their testimony during a key administrative hearing.

 

Suppression of information is spreading – gag orders, nondisclosure agreements, and the government's refusal to turnover documents. In agencies that span Federal service, conscientious public servants are struggling to communicate vital concerns to their true employers – the American public. Is anyone listening?

 

Teresa Chambers

tcchambers@honestchief.com

[Guest Charles265]

I do not know if this helps that many federal whistleblower laws are administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). When a complaint is to be filed under these whistleblower laws, they should be filed in writing with the local OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor) Office and/or mailed to:

 

Office of the Assistant Secretary, Occupational Safety & Health Administration

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave., N.W .

Washington, DC 20210

 

I will be following your story.

[Luke_Wilbur]

I think the Whistleblower Protection Act is more applicable.

 

A federal agency violates the Whistleblower Protection Act if it takes or fails to take (or threatens to take or fail to take) a personnel action with respect to any employee or applicant because of any disclosure of information by the employee or applicant that he or she reasonably believes evidences a violation of a law, rule or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; an abuse of authority; or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.

 

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has jurisdiction over allegations of whistleblower retaliation for made by employees of the SEC.

* Whistleblower Protection Act Complaints should be sent to

 

U.S. Office of Special Counsel

Complaints Examining Unit

1730 M Street, NW, Suite 201

Washington, DC 20036-4505

 

The required Whistleblower complaint form is available online at

OSC (www.osc.gov)

[Guest Teresa Chambers]

Thanks for your comments. I'm still learning about the Federal administrative processes as we move through this ordeal. We did file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). They drug their heels for MONTHS; and, when were finally able to do so, we filed directly with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). I'm not sure why, but my case (and perhaps all Department of the Interior Cases -- I just don't know) do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor.

 

Thanks for your interest in my case. When you visit my husband's website, www.HonestChief.com, you can click on the "Sign Me Up!" button, and I'll be glad to periodically update you as the case progresses. You'll also be able to read all the pertinent actual documents in my case and hear some of the previous stories and most of my interviews via the "Audio Library," which you can access from the home page.

 

Thank you again!

 

Teresa Chambers

tcchambers@honestchief.com