Joyce Gallagher's Statement

This 17 page document makes me ill; and I am extremely troubled in the demeanor that Gallagher suggest I was like. I have never been loud or abusive almost to a fault. If I was as bad as she states; had I been her, I would have left long ago. No one succeeds in law enforcement as I did with the type of attitude or actions that Gallagher suggests.

Let’s bullet the areas that you need to really read and then wonder as I did:

Page two: I never told her to use the meter. In fact, there’s a sticky note as an indication to put on my postage. If I wanted the meter used, I would have just put the envelope in my out basket. The note for postage was always for my/our personal stamps.

Page three: If this wasn’t so serious to me, the flashlight statement would be funny. I took the light from the office to put in my police car because my other one quit working. She asked what I was going to use it for because she was mad and I rather smugly told her to pick oranges.

Page four: The “she’ll learn” statement was nothing more than me knowing former Sheriff Oelrich gave these gifts to the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch and most of the time the vendors knew that’s where they’d go. Gallagher wouldn’t have known that as she was not a policy maker.

More Page four: Withey thought he had a coup regarding the letter to Swanson. They entertained us and again Gallagher wouldn’t have known that. See ACSO Policy #451.VII.B for the per diem definition in the Documents Index. I always go somewhere for food in the evening even when entertained by conference vendors.

Page five: Gallagher hints an impropriety regarding checks coming to my home. She knows very well my travel is reconciled. Why would she even hint to Withey that I did something wrong? I wanted to make sure my checks went through me to Fiscal.

More Page five: When the property clerk asked me if it was personal business or ACSO business, I was shocked. I just needed a box at her convenience. I did bark at her. (If I needed a box for personal business, I would have gotten it myself or brought one myself.) Gallagher failed to tell Withey that I realized that I had barked and not only apologized to the clerk shortly thereafter, but to two other persons who were present, also.

Page six and seven: This is a lot about the car. I will state here that Gallagher knows nothing about my business and wouldn’t know if I got the car at a reduced price or not. What she does know are the hundreds of calls from family and friends of other inmates like Brian Nagel that I gave visits to or phone calls to or anything else that fell within the confines of policy and the law. You’ll see a couple of letters from these people. Gallagher doesn’t realize that I saved all these telephone messages that she took and wrote for me over the years. I have them all in my personal possessions right now.

Page eight: The statement about Lt. Hamula is completely erroneous. Lt. Hamula was a member of my old agency in New York and retired last summer. He is a life long friend. I never gave him anything, especially any police information. Withey could have verified this with Combined Communications had he wanted the truth.

Page nine: Gallagher needs to rethink her comments about Mia Day. She had told me that Day was the best worker we had had in years. She wanted her to have as much gain time as we could give her. I told her to write it up. Gallagher also is the one who told Mia Day that she ought to get a picture for me. Read Mia Day’s summary.

Pages 10, 11 and 12: These are strictly opinions that fed Withey but served no other purpose. Gallagher doesn’t remember to mention the blonde jokes she would send to me via e-mail. I only wish that Gallagher had let me know she didn’t want to work in my office because I had mentioned many times to Sheriff Oelrich that a change was necessary, but because she came to us from the county via the inter-local agreement, we couldn’t do anything about it.

Page 12 and 13: I went out of my way to get Gallagher overtime because she claimed poverty nearly every day. I got the former chief inspector to give her tapes to transcribe for the longest time and she did it all on overtime, even if she didn’t have anything to do during our work day. I offered to let her work in Booking Support for overtime because they always needed someone. She didn’t want to. Yet, Gallagher put in for the Bureau Chief’s job down there and went to the interview completely unprepared, thinking she was going to be recommended for the job. I did not interfere with that process, nor would I.

Page 13: Darnell put Emery Gainey, now a captain into my suite, without even telling me and all of a sudden Gallagher says my ranting and raving stopped. Good excuse for Gallagher. (The previous administration, to include Col. Gainey would have communicated any office assignments and would have let me, the director, be aware of my department and changes.

Page 14: I have never thought of Louise Grimm as anyone but a friend. I am very happy with my home life. Gallagher has no idea about private personal conversations or my relationship with Louise. She is reaching for something that never would nor ever did happen. To even suggest I had an affair is revolting.

Page 15: I closed my door anytime important people came to my office for a very good reason. Gallagher eavesdrops and gossips, obviously. I didn’t need that.

Pages 16 and 17: The postage machine was staying put because Professional Standards used it along with my office. Booking Support always came upstairs to do the mail and it was a central location for the courier from the main office.

This statement of Gallagher’s is Withey leading her around by his line of questioning. Notice here that there is no mention, NOTHING, of the false allegations particularly the payment of an inmate’s restitution which started this investigation to begin with!

Click here to read Joyce Gallagher's statement. [730 Kb]