By Madison Park, The Associated Press
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Fighting to get her job back, fired U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers testified Thursday that she did not divulge classified information when she complained her agency was short on money and staff.
Chambers, who is viewed as a whistleblower by supporters, and a troublemaker by opponents, took the stand at a hearing of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi-judicial agency that protects the rights of federal workers.
Chambers said she would have felt derelict in her duties had she not publicly raised concerns about a $12 million budget shortfall and staffing problems after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“Our public needed to know,” Chambers said.
But Paul Hoffman, the deputy assistant secretary in the Interior Department who dismissed Chambers, accused her of demonstrating very poor leadership” and “disregarding policies.”
The Park Police patrol many landmarks in the nation’s capital and elsewhere, including the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Chambers was suspended and placed under a gag order on Dec. 5, a few days after telling various news media that she had been forced to cut back on patrols because her officers were required to guard national monuments.
When asked about security dangers at the nation’s monuments, Chambers said, “It was and is a real threat.”
Hoffman testified Thursday that Chambers had improperly disclosed budget figures and staffing levels, and had potentially endangered the national icons and their visitors. He said nothing short of dismissal would have been appropriate.
The hearing resumes Tuesday, with a ruling likely to take one to three weeks.