Holding HPD Accountable To Their New Standard Of Excellence

There’s a new chief at the Huntersville Police Department and he’s enforcing a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to actual violations (or even just alleged violations that are used as a pretext to get rid of someone…) of HPD policy or the town’s personnel policy. I applaud the new standard of excellence being enforced at HPD and look forward to the chief fairly and objectively applying this standard across the department. If a single alleged violation of the town’s personnel policy is enough to justify disciplinary action and removal of a long-time officer with no history of complaints or reprimands, then surely a decade-long involvement by an HPD officer with a company separate and apart from HPD might possibly warrant some investigation into whether any violations of HPD policy or the town’s personnel policy have ever occurred, right? But more on Crossover Sports, LLC in the next article…

HPD Officer Tom Seifert was recently re-hired by the town back in December after a stint with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. According to HPD sources, Officer Seifert sent an email on or about May 1, 2019 to “HPD All Employees” using his town email account promoting the “42nd Annual NC Law Enforcement Open” golf tournament (an annual event that appears to rotate throughout the state) to be held August 12, 13, and 14, 2019 at Cowan’s Ford Golf Course. August 12, 13, and 14 are weekdays.

According to the promotional materials attached to the email, this golf tournament is not advertised as being sponsored by HPD or limited to HPD personnel, nor is it advertised as benefiting the town or HPD in any way. So why is town equipment being put to personal use to advertise an event not related to town business and that could advance the financial or other private interest of themselves or others?

The entry fee for this tournament is listed as $175 (limited to the first 120 paid entrants – for a total of $21,000 in entry fees), which includes golf, on course beverages and snacks, a goody bag, and entry to a “Hospitality Room” at the Four Points by Sheraton on Northcross Dr. in Huntersville open each night at 6:30 with food and beverages provided by the tournament. Sounds like quite a deal for $175!

The tournament entry form states that questions or comments regarding the event can be directed to Officer Seifert at either his huntersville.org email address or the only phone number he lists on the HPD Phone List.

What’s not clear from the golf tournament promotional materials is where the money goes. Checks can be made out to the “42nd NC LEO” and mailed to a residential address in Stanley, NC. There is no website listed for this “42nd NC LEO” group found on the promotional materials and no corporate entity with a similar name was located based on a search online or at the Secretary of State’s website. There is a public facebook group – North Carolina Law Enforcement Annual Golf Tournament – listed on the promotional materials, but there is no additional website or organizational information at the facebook page. But, there is a nice photo of Officer Seifert holding his Overall Champion trophy from the “40th Annual NC Law Enforcement Open” golf tournament. Guess we all know who the best golfer at HPD is!

$21,000 is just the money raised from entry fees, but there are also sponsorship opportunities advertised up to $1,000 to be a sponsor for the Awards Banquet, along with a request from members of the community for donations. The promotional materials only state that any “unused” portion of the donations will be donated to two named charities – but what about the “used” portion of the fees and remainder of the donations and sponsorship monies, where does that money go?

I’m confident this annual golf tournament is a wonderful opportunity for law enforcement and emergency personnel statewide to come together on a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday during the work week for some fun times on the golf course (and at the Sheraton Hospitality Room each night!) and surely some of the “unused” portion of the donations do indeed go to wonderful causes and charities. But, organizing a golf tournament of this size definitely requires a large time commitment. If Officer Seifert has already used town equipment at least once on May 1 to advertise an event not related to town business and that could advance the financial or other private interest of himself or others, is it possible he’s used town equipment for similar reasons before or after that date? Let’s hope not because under the new standard of excellence at HPD even a single actual (or alleged) violation of HPD policy or the town’s personnel policy could result in immediate disciplinary measures.

This isn’t rocket science folks. When people are held to different standards, morale suffers. Another pay raise band-aid isn’t going to fix this problem.

Check back next week for part 2 to find out what a moving van, a local golf league, and the CMS Police Dept. have in common.

Eric