INSIGHT: The Plight of Whistleblowers

By Teresa Chambers

WASHINGTON, DC, December 7, 2004 (ENS) - The plight of whistleblowers – those employees who sound the alarm about anything from dangerous conditions in the workplace to missed or ignored intelligence regarding our nation’s security – is a story that seems to grow stronger and with more frequency every day. My guess is that those stories have always been there; I suspect I am just paying closer attention to them now.

Former United States Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers in uniform (Photo courtesy Honest Chief.com)

The world changed for all of us on September 11, 2001, and the expectations of police agencies across the country grew exponentially overnight.

As the Chief of the United States Park Police, an organization responsible for some of America’s most valued and recognizable symbols of freedom, I knew it was my duty, as chiefs of police across the country do every day, to inform the community of the realities of the situation.

For being candid - for being "honest" - while still being supportive of my superiors, I was, without warning, stripped of my law enforcement authority, badge, and firearm, and escorted from the Department of the Interior by armed special agents of another Federal law enforcement entity last December (2003).

Seven months later, the Department of the Interior terminated me.

The U.S. Park Police are responsible for the monuments in Washington, DC including the Washington Monument, built between 1848 and 1884 as a memorial to George Washington, first President of the United States. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

Imagine the outcry if I had previously stayed silent and if one of those symbolic monuments or memorials had been destroyed or the loss of life had occurred to someone visiting one of those locations. I did not want to be standing with my superiors among the ruins of one of these icons or in front of a Congressional committee trying to explain why we hadn't asked for help.

Despite the serious First Amendment and security implications of my case for each American, there has been no Congressional intervention, no Congressional hearings, no demand of accountability by elected officials for those who took action to silence me and who have ignored all warnings about the perils to which I alerted them.

Following my termination and the publicity that accompanied it, it is unlikely that any current Federal employee will be willing to speak up with straightforward, accurate information about the realities of any danger we face.

The Jefferson Memorial to America's third President, Thomas Jefferson. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

My story is told on a website, www.honestchief.com, established nearly one year ago and maintained by my husband so that the American people could "witness" the issues in this case. The website has provided transparency to my situation by making key documents available for viewing, including the transcripts of depositions of top officials and their testimony during a recent administrative hearing.

Suppression of information is spreading – gag orders, non disclosures agreements, and the government’s refusal to turn over documents. In agencies that span Federal service, conscientious public servants are struggling to communicate vital concerns to their true employers – you, the American public. Is anyone listening?

{Teresa Chambers' biography is online here. She is available by email at: tcchambers@honestchief.com.}