When Did Putting Money In Someone's Pants During A Holiday Striptease Mean You Can't Be Police Chief Anymore?
Chula Vista police chief in hot water over holiday party striptease.
Evidently, if you're a police chief in California, you're expected to watch a dance off where an off-duty officer takes his shirt off without getting out of your seat and putting money in his front pockets.
That doesn’t paint a picture of a holiday work party I want to attend. I'm not alone either, but that hasn’t kept Chula Vista police chief Roxana Kennedy from finding herself in hot water.
Chief Roxana Kennedy of the Chula Vista Police Department rides as Grand Marshall at the 37th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade And Festival in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
During a holiday work party last December, there were two off-duty officers participating in a dance-off for a TV. One of the officers in the friendly competition took his shirt off.
According to Kennedy's attorney, Cory Briggs, the police chief took two $1 bills and put them in the pockets of the officer who had taken his shirt off. That was it. There was no other touching of the officer by the chief.
She was applauded by the mayor, two council members, the city manager and many other city employees at the party. She then returned to her seat to enjoy the rest of the Chippendale-style dance.
Some Departments Do Secret Santa, This One Did A Dance-Off
A week later, the trouble started, and the city manager spoke with the police chief and told her that people were complaining. The Chula Vista Mayor, John McCann, who was at the party, wasn’t among the complainers.
He supports Kennedy and didn’t see anything inappropriate. He said, "She has been an exceptional leader. I want to make sure that we can get back to having the city run in a good, positive way, because she has done an incredibly great job as the police chief."
The police union unanimously voted to back her as well. She's been with the department for more than 30 years and has been the head of it since 2016.
The police chief has been on medical leave since January 23 as the drama has continued to unfold. She is expected back later this month.
What are we doing? The effort to have the police chief removed for this is an incredible waste of time.
I don’t know about you, but I'd prefer to live in a world where a police chief can put a couple dollar bills into pockets of officers dancing shirtless at a holiday party trying to win a new TV.