Editorial:

The City Council, in voting to remove newly installed Police Commissioner John Brady on Tuesday, only made a bad situation worse. Now we not only have a Police Department in turmoil over a discrimination lawsuit, but a Police Commission that has apparently become the latest political thorn in the side of City Hall.

There are any number of reasons for why certain members of the City Council wouldn’t want someone like Brady on the Police Commission, which in recent years has failed to assert its full oversight authority to now painfully obvious consequences.

He speaks his mind, has experience questioning authority and has been involved with civil rights issues for years. And, importantly, he’s not a member of an establishment that continues, for whatever reason, to close ranks around those who have perpetuated a disconnect between the council, the Police Department and the public.

Yes, he is serving unsupervised probation for drunk driving, and we understand how that might be an issue for someone serving on the Police Commission.

However, the way this whole thing collapsed has left us holding our noses.

Just look at the series of events leading up to his removal: Police Chief Tim Stehr informs the city attorney of Brady’s record, who then informs the City Council, who then call for a revote and vote him out.

Keep in mind the basis on which Brady was removed was a judgment call on the part of the City Council, not because he was disqualified under some existing rule.

The decision was political, and you’d have to be a very nascent politico to not see how the formula was stacked against Brady.

Had he been a “yes man” for Stehr or the council, chances are good that the headline on this editorial would have read differently. In fact, we seriously doubt Brady’s record would have come to light.

For a City Council seemingly so concerned about public perception, its members certainly have a lot of cleaning up to do.