By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

U.S. Park Police Chief Dwight E. Pettiford was removed from operational command of the troubled force yesterday while Department of the Interior officials assess his suitability to continue as chief, the National Park Service announced.

Pettiford will continue to hold the title of chief but will be moved to Interior Department headquarters to help formulate a program of reforms for the force, David Barna, a Park Service spokesman, said.

Command is being taken over by an acting assistant police chief, a former Park Police major, Salvatore R. Lauro, who once commanded the special forces branch, Barna said.

The moves come a month after an Interior Department inspector general's report strongly criticized the force for failing to adequately protect such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

The report, though not referring to Pettiford by name, said the chief must share the blame. It said that the force was plagued by low morale, poor leadership and bad organization and that it was understaffed, insufficiently trained and woefully equipped.

The report suggested that hallowed sites on the Mall are weakly guarded and vulnerable to terrorist attack. It included surveillance photographs of what appeared to be a Park Police officer sleeping in a police vehicle as well as private contract security guards talking on a cellphone and reading the newspaper at the Washington Monument.

The report also criticized the force for failing to monitor the quality of and wear and tear on officers' ballistic vests and for equipping officers with high-mileage patrol cars.

Pettiford will be detailed to work with a management oversight team that the department has set up to respond to recommendations in the report, Barna said.

Asked whether Pettiford might resume command, Barna said, "We don't know." He pointed out that one of the report's 20 recommendations was that the Park Service and Interior Department assess whether the chief "is equipped to effectively advance the mission and operations of the agency."

Phone calls requesting comment from Pettiford were not immediately returned by the Park Police spokesman. In an interview last month, Pettiford said that he was doing the best he could with what he had and that he had inherited some of the problems. He added that he was already moving to address others.

Asked at the time about the accusation that the monuments were not adequately protected, he said: "They're still standing."

He added that he hoped to stay on as police chief.

Pettiford was a top commander for Teresa C. Chambers, the department's first female chief, who was fired in 2004 after raising concerns about staffing and security. He took over that year.

The Park Police has 592 sworn officers, 97 civilian employees and 30 private security guards, officials have said. The agency helps patrol sites mostly in Washington but also is present at the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Jim Austin, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police labor committee that represents Park Police officers, said of Pettiford's removal: "I think it's an important first step of trying to get the Park Police right back on the track. . . . There was an impediment to our progress with Chief Pettiford."

Austin said he was getting positive reaction to the decision across the board.

Lauro is "a very personable guy who tends to use well-thought-out intelligence and common sense in his decisions," Austin said. "He was widely respected throughout the Park Police."

As head of the special forces branch, Lauro supervised the SWAT team, as well as motorcycle, aviation, canine and intelligence units, the Park Service said. He retired two years ago after 25 years on the force and took a civilian law enforcement job with the Interior Department, Barna said.