New police chief can instill a needed new attitude in Jupiter

The Jupiter police chief who greeted news of his own 30-day suspension with the flippant, "It's most unfortunate, but I'll be working on my golf game, attending spring training games and working on my tan," is gone. But the damage he did remains. Now, though, Jupiter has a chance to rebuild the police force.

A recent department survey reflected poorly on Chief Richard Westgate's 19-year reign. More than half of the officers who responded said department policies and procedures had not been followed, and they could not describe morale as high. Officers complained about intimidation, favoritism in promotions and the need for a change in management.

Chief Westgate's forced retirement offers the opportunity for Town Manager Andy Lukasik to inject a new attitude into a department that hasn't been the same since a 1999 Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation led to Chief Westgate's suspension. The investigation focused on reports that Chief Westgate ordered officers to ignore drunken-driving violations by town officials and, years earlier, had encouraged the torching of homeless camps. His deputy chief, Stan Hermanski, once accused of threatening a fellow officer, took early retirement.

Last week, Mr. Lukasik interviewed seven candidates for the job. On Wednesday, he chose Frank Kitzerow, the Portsmouth, Va., chief who led the investigation into the Washington-area snipers, over deputy chiefs from Tallahassee and Coral Springs, among others. The new chief, who will be paid $105,000, must be prepared to work with migrant laborers, who will be asked to give up their pre-dawn ritual of waiting for employers on residential streets and move to a town-financed labor center -- next door to the police department. That will require responsive officers following procedure, not a police force dragged down by bad morale.