Scott quits Durham top cop job

Durham is once again lacking a permanent police chief after the latest nominee for the job, Douglas Scott, announced Thursday that he would no longer accept it.

Scott, currently an assistant inspector general with the U.S. Department of the Interior and former police chief of Fairfax, Va., e-mailed a letter to City Manager Marcia Conner Wednesday explaining that he would not take the position as Durham chief of police. His reasons for declining the offer included what he considered inadequate health insurance coverage and the turmoil surrounding the city manager's office, The Associated Press reported. Conner called Scott around 6 a.m. Thursday and told him that the City Council was still trying to work out a deal, but Scott did not change his mind.

City Council Member Lewis Cheek explained the primary reason Scott will not be Durham's next police chief is that the health insurance provided by the city government falls short of the federal government's insurance coverage. As a current employee of the federal government, Scott and his family will continue to be covered under a group health insurance plan after he retires, while the city can make no such promises. Since a member of Scott's family has a particularly expensive medical condition, he wanted the optimal coverage.

"It might have been possible to [work out a solution], but not in the time frame Doug Scott was comfortable with," Cheek said. "He wanted more than we can guarantee at this point."

In addition, Scott told The Associated Press that recent problems between Conner and the City Council also contributed to his decision. Conner was reprimanded by the City Council Tuesday because she breached policy in granting city contracts. The Council cut her pay and must now approve every contract she signs.

Cheek said he did not know who would become police chief, but that Conner, who controls the selection process, is considering current Interim Police Chief Steve Chalmers. However, Chalmers was once selected as a candidate for the position and then rejected because of controversy surrounding allegations of domestic violence. The search firm doing a background check on Chalmers said he lied when he contended that he was never charged with domestic abuse. Chalmers said the firm had asked him if he was ever convicted of domestic abuse, and he truthfully said no.

Kansas City Police Chief Gregory Watkins was also removed from the running in August due to allegations of domestic abuse in his past.

Cheek said it was within the city manager's authority to order a new search, though Durham has been without a permanent police chief for nearly ten months.