SoundOff

Randy Doffing

(Brother of Rene Doffing)

A Loss to Public Safety

The Crime Watch program (a.k.a., Neighborhood Policing) is the current public safety philosophy which is based on a partnership between the Police Department and its citizens. The idea being that the police can't be everywhere all the time; so, it encourages average citizens to watch for and report suspicious activity.

From every indication, the program is working. Why? Criminal activity is lessened when its citizenry is on friendly terms with its police officers. That is the contribution that Officer Rene Doffing brings to the Hastings Police Department. Whether on duty or off, he takes the time to chat with people anywhere and everywhere. People in the community are comfortable with him.

Add to the fact that Officer Doffing grew up in the community, knows its geography, its people, and you have a great asset to Hastings' public safety.

But the administration at City Hall does not share this view of Officer Doffing. They want to terminate his employment with the city. Why? Here are the facts as they have been made public:

1) Officer Doffing has a 16-year career with the Hastings Police Department.

2) Within the past 3 months, an internal complaint was filed against him.

3) Last year, he ran for Dakota County Sheriff.

4) The 3-member Police Civil Service Commission met at 9:30 AM Friday, May 18, 2007 to "review" the

recommendation of Mayor Hicks to terminate Officer Doffing's employment.

5) This meeting lasted 2 minutes.

6) The commissioners voted in favor of termination 3-0.

7 Several citizens attended this Public Hearing to support Officer Doffing but the commission did not allow them to speak.

According to Minnesota statue 419.05 Duties of [Police] Commission are: "The commission shall have absolute control and supervision over the employment, promotion, discharge, and suspension of all officers and employees of the police department..."

The Police Civil Service Commission can call a special meeting to reverse their decision.

If you believe that officer Doffing is being treated unfairly, please contact these commission members and tell them so:

Joe Drexler

480-2560

Marty Jurgensen 480-1874

Judy Gilbert

(number not published)

05/21/07

Anthony (Tony) Alongi

503 Ramsey Street

Hastings, MN 55033

February 19, 2008

Senator Katie Sieben

Representative Denny McNamara

321 Capitol

271 State Office Building

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Dear Senator Sieben and Representative McNamara:

I represent the First Ward of Hastings, which as you know includes most of Hastings east of Highway 61. It is a large and diverse ward, full of voters who have in the past supported all sorts of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. Right now, there is one issue on these people's minds above all others: the Hastings bridge.

Many people do not know how much both of you have already done to address this issue. You deserve credit for what you've done. You've both been active on the newly formed group to advocate bridge replacement, you've pushed the Minnesota Department of Transportation to make replacement a higher priority, and you each have your thoughtful approaches for finding state funding. At a projected cost of $100 million or more, this is no easy task, and there is no single or simple answer. Thank you both for getting in there and trying to make this happen.

With critical votes taking place within days in both the House and Senate, and the familiar whiff of political gridlock in the air, I urge you to do even more. A repeat of last year's performance, where the Governor vetoes a transportation bill and then everything stops cold, would be a travesty less than a year after the collapse of the 35W bridge. Nothing – absolutely nothing – would be worse for Minnesota's economy than the failure of another bridge. Can you imagine trying to explain such a failure to constituents, after a second consecutive legislative stalemate?

Doing better than that will require compromise…from both political parties. Republicans need to acknowledge that the undertaking will probably require a small bump in a gas tax. Non-partisan experts agree that such an increase would not cripple our economy, and would represent a small fraction of what we already tolerate in wild price increases that line the pockets of oil-rich countries. Meanwhile, Democrats need to acknowledge that spending and bonding bills that reflect business as usual are inappropriate this year. Transportation has to be a true priority – and in a tough budget year, that means cutting spending in other places.

Raise a tax here, cut some spending there – it's a shame we can't find a single political party willing to do both, nowadays! We might get budgets balanced and bridges built more quickly. But let's work with what we've got, which is plenty. You are both intelligent, dedicated public servants. You know your constituents care more about results on this issue, than on the exact path that gets us there. There is still time for you both to lead your respective parties toward compromise.

As the elected leaders representing this area, you could speak with a common voice. You could meet, identify elements of each other's plan you can support, present your common solutions publicly, and work to prevent another ugly impasse. It won't be easy. Party leaders may dismiss you, or call you naive. Some of the more fervent voters on both sides may get upset with you. But the vast majority of your constituents, I believe, would be impressed with your leadership and thankful for your willingness to get things done. Most importantly, you would accelerate the replacement of the Hastings bridge.

It’s a fact that you both work hard. What we in Hastings need now, more than ever, is for you to work together. Bless you for your time and energy on behalf of your district. Success here will mean so much to all of us.

Sincerely,

Anthony (Tony) Alongi

Ward 1 Representative, Hastings City Council

Ed Kranz

February 25, 2008

Rene Doffing has been a full-time police officer for the City of Hastings Police Department since January 1, 1994. He has received favorable performance evaluations and commendations for his service. He is a lifelong active resident of Hastings and is seen by many as an asset to our community.

On March 26, 2007 at 2 AM in the morning, officer Doffing responded to a disorderly conduct/drunken brawl at a local establishment. in the process of attempting to bring the situation under control an intoxicated person was injured running into Officer Doffing's patrol car. As a result of this incident, in May of 2007 Officer Doffing was terminated from the Police Department. Officer Doffing appealed this decision.

An independent arbitrator was hired by the City of Hastings to determine the future employment of Rene Doffing with the Hastings Police Department. The arbitrator conducted a thorough hearing on the matter on November 7, 8 and 9, 2007. On January 25, 2008 the arbitrator ruled that the City had failed to demonstrate just cause for its termination of Officer Doffing.

The City was wrong in terminating Officer Doffing. This fact is verified by the independent arbitrator hired by the City. This demeaning action taken by the Mayor on behalf of the City has damaged the reputation of Officer Doffing. Our community needs to welcome Officer Doffing back to the Police Department and thank him for his dedicated service to the residents of Hastings.

June 16, 2008

To the Editor

I read the article detailing the City’s appeal of an arbitrators decision that reinstated Officer Doffing last January after he was fired by the City in May of 2007. The information in the article does not explain what originally happened that lead to the dismissal of Officer Doffing. The case law discussed in the article that deals with other cases could lead the reader to believe that the Doffing Case was a much larger incident than it was.

On March 26, 2007 at 2 AM in the morning, Officer Doffing responded to a disorderly conduct/drunken brawl at a local establishment. In the process of attempting to bring the situation under control an intoxicated person was injured running into Officer Doffing’s patrol car. The City terminated Officer Doffing in May of 2007. In January of 2008, an independent arbitrator reinstated Officer Doffing. The City contested this in District Court.

Officer Doffing is under attack by arrogant officials within the City of Hastings. There are other problems within the Police Department as evidenced by other legal cases. The powers within the City’s structure want Doffing out at any cost. They are attempting to manipulate the legal system to attain their goals. Why would criminal charges be brought against Doffing one year after the minor incident in March of 2007 ? The manipulators are attempting to gain public support for their endeavors against Doffing by continued allegations of misconduct. They are exaggerating all details to gain public support. The existing City Council needs to look into the issues of the Police Department. The problem is not Officer Doffing. Officer Doffing is the victim of a serious problem.

Ed Kranz