28-Year Veteran Calls It Quits During Phone Call To City Administrator
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- West Palm Beach's police chief said Thursday she's retiring now instead of at the end of the year.Chief Delsa Bush made a telephone call to city administrator Ed Mitchell announcing her decision in front of WPBF 25 News' Ted White."I'm calling you to let you know that I will be bringing my car back there tonight, and I will be out by morning," Bush said. "Just allow me to come and get my personal property, and I'll be done."Her conversation with Mitchell lasted a few minutes."No, Ed, I am sick of this," Bush said. "I have had it. I don't trust you anymore, and I don't trust the city anymore."Bush said she's had enough of the often public feuding about a new police radio system that the city invested $5 million in but has yet to become operation. Then there was the controversy about a jaywalking ticket that a woman received from a West Palm Beach police officer -- a ticket Bush later voided."I have been called a lot of things in my life, but it touches me after a 28-year career to be called a liar and untrustworthy," Bush said. "Those are my fundamental principles that I've always relied upon."Initially, Bush submitted a letter Tuesday notifying Mayor Jeri Muoio that she would retire effective Jan. 1. But she said the final straw was when a city official called her Thursday morning and asked her to take a month-long vacation and then retire next month."You just have to stand for something sometimes, and this is just totally out of control," Bush said.The chief and Muoio have had a contentious relationship since Muoio became mayor earlier this year. During her election campaign, Muoio said she would fire Bush if she were elected. Muoio later said she would reconsider."She chose to leave and decided to leave immediately," Muoio said at a news conference after Bush's announcement Thursday night.Muoio said she doesn't know why Bush retired earlier than expected but said there wasn't any bad blood between them."She and I have had a working relationship," Muoio said. "We certainly have agreed on many things, and we've disagreed on other things. But I respected her position."Muoio said interim chiefs Bryan Kummerlen and Mary Santos-Olsen will assume Bush's duties until a new chief is named."Together they have some 50 years of experience in our police department, and citizens should have confidence that the department will continue to operate effectively and that we have begun the transition process," Muoio said.Bush is a 28-year veteran of the West Palm Beach Police Department. She was the first black female officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and assistant chief in the city's history. She also became the first black female chief of police when she was appointed by former Mayor Lois Frankel in 2004.
