Washington, DC — Teresa Chambers today re-applies for the position of Chief of Police of the United States Park Police as advertised in the Vacancy Announcement Number NPSWASO-04-066. Her application comes 11 days after the filing of a legal action to overturn her removal as Chief of the U.S. Park Police, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The position has been vacant since December 5, 2003, following her admittance of staffing and budget shortfalls in an interview with the Washington Post.
In February 2002, Chambers, a career law enforcement professional, was appointed the first female chief of the U.S. Park Police, the oldest uniformed federal police force. Her most recent experience of overseeing the Park Police’s budget of 79 Million Dollars and the availability of uniformed and horse mounted patrol, motorcycles, aviation, SWAT, investigations, and other specialties, Chambers’ leadership credentials look to again place her as the top candidate.
“No one is better suited for the job, than the ‘Chief'” stated PEER General Counsel Richard Condit, whose organization recently filed, along with lead-attorney Mick Harrison, a 239-page petition that cites more than 40 legal errors made by the judge who upheld Chief Chambers’ termination this past fall. “Since Donald Murphy [NPS Deputy Director] ordered Chief Chambers to surrender her badge, gun and law enforcement credentials last December, this is a great opportunity to have her return to the job she’s earned.”
Chambers, who attended the FBI National Academy as well as the FBI’s prestigious National Executive Institute, was chosen to lead the U.S. Park Police largely in part of her successful tenure as the Chief of The Durham Police Department, where the nationally accredited, full-service police agency of nearly 600 employees served a diverse community of approximately 187,000 citizens. As a result of her four years there, the City of Durham experienced a substantial reduction in crime after nearly a decade of rising crime.
“This past year, in her absence, the park service leadership maintains a ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ attitude while clamping down on voices from within the agency,” adds Condit. “That kind of an attitude can only begin to be addressed with the re-hiring of Teresa Chambers.”
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Read Teresa Chambers’ cover letter & resume
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