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Letters to the editor are opinion editorials submitted by readers. Letters to the editor are a long tradition in American journalism. The views and opinions of the writer do not necessarily reflect those of Mason County Press, its staff or its parent company. For more information, please refer to MCP’s Letter to the Editor Policy.
Dear Editor,
For the past three and a half years, I have led the officers and staff of the Ludington Police Department. When then-City Manager Mitch Foster hired me, he was blunt: the department needed direction and it needed course corrections. The goals were clear: develop a young staff, build succession plans, engage the community and lead a department whose members understand that their work, individually and together, makes a real difference in the community where they serve and live.
With the support of Foster, Oakes and now Aldrich, we have made real progress on every one of those goals. It has not been easy. The community has seen our growing pains, our mistakes and some of our failures, and we have owned them. Through all of it, our staff has persevered, often under attacks they did nothing to deserve, and they continue to build the professional law enforcement agency Ludington deserves.
On the FOIA policy and the attacks that followed
Shortly after I arrived, I reviewed the city’s Freedom of Information Act policy and found it out of step with state law. I recommended changes to the city manager and the City Council, and the council adopted an updated policy. Michigan law permits public bodies to recover some of the cost of fulfilling FOIA requests, and the city now applies that standard to everyone equally: defense attorneys, businesses and private citizens alike. No one gets special treatment.
Tom Rotta, who also publishes under other names, did not like that change. Rather than make his case through legitimate channels, he filed complaints with the Michigan State Police alleging extortion and has repeatedly accused me of criminal conduct. Those accusations are baseless. Following state law is not extortion. I stand by the policy. It is lawful, it is fair, and it protects taxpayers from footing a bill the law allows to be shared.
People ask why I don’t simply sit down with Rotta and work things out. I have tried. I personally invited him to serve on the bicycle and coaster toy committee, and he accepted. He attended a number of meetings and offered little. Then, when the committee’s recommendations reached the council, he stood up and spoke against them. I welcome criticism. It is part of public service, and it often makes our work better. But criticism only carries weight when it comes from people willing to help find the solution. Rotta has never offered a solution. He offers hatred and fear, and nothing else.
On the publication of my home address
Friday evening, a citizen emailed to warn me that Rotta had published my home address and a map to my house on his websites, along with a claim that I fled the city because of high taxes. That claim is false, and one honest question would have told him so. We bought our home knowing the taxes would uncap, and they did. A local realtor was helpful and upfront about that. Taxes played no part in our decision to move.
We moved for privacy. While living in the city, I was confronted at my own home more than once. On one occasion, a man shouted profanity at me while I played in the backyard with my 4-year-old granddaughter. On another, a resident screamed at me over a parking ticket while I worked in my front yard, with my granddaughter playing a few feet away. I accept that public scrutiny comes with this job. What I will not accept is people dragging my family into it. There are boundaries that decent people do not cross. My family did not sign up for this, and I will not apologize for protecting them.
So, for anyone wondering why I moved to Hamlin Township: privacy and a lack of respect for boundaries. Not taxes. Now that privacy is gone, and with it some of my family’s sense of security. We will find out whether boundaries mean anything in Hamlin Township or whether they will be trampled there the way they were in Ludington.
Publishing my street address served no public purpose whatsoever. If Rotta’s point was that the police chief lives in Hamlin Township, he could have said exactly that. Instead, he published the address and a map at a time when I have already been followed home on two occasions. That is not journalism, and it is not accountability. It is intimidation, plain and simple. And it will not work. I will continue to do my job exactly as I have, and no one is going to scare me out of it.
On other allegations
I won’t dignify every rumor circulating in the community with a response, but let me be absolutely clear about a few. The Ludington Police Department does not stalk citizens. We do not damage property. We do not have technology that can remotely activate car horns, and the suggestion that we would use such a thing to disrupt a council meeting is absurd. These claims are not just false; they are an insult to the men and women who serve this city.
On the path forward
What concerns me most is not any one individual. It is the climate of hostility that has taken hold, here and across the country, and the people who feed it. We are constantly encouraged to choose sides, treat those who disagree as enemies, and cut off anyone associated with the other camp.
I have refused to play that game. People follow Rotta and others for many reasons: genuine concerns about pollution or transparency, curiosity and often simple entertainment. If I bought into that climate of hostility, I would refuse to associate with anyone who follows Rotta or others in that “camp.” I won’t. I believe we can disagree and still be civil. We can hold different views and still respect boundaries. That path is harder, but it is the only one that leads anywhere good for anyone.
Before I was hired, someone told me Ludington was a close-knit community slow to accept outsiders and asked how I would handle that. I told that person I would do the work, engage the community and let people decide for themselves. That person was right. I have been reminded more times than I can count that I am “not from Ludington.” That is true. It has not changed my commitment to this city one bit.
To those who have welcomed and supported our department: thank you. To those who have not: we will keep working to earn your trust. To those who have no idea what is going on or simply do not care: your apathy and indifference are dangerous, and they are part of the problem. Our community is at a critical decision point. We can choose civility and cooperative citizenship, or we can keep the status quo. The status quo will not lead to success for anyone. Enough is enough.
Sincerely,
Chris Jones
Chief of Police
City of Ludington
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