After having just been promoted to police chief in 2006, Michael Billdt is seeing his short and embattled reign with the San Bernardino Police Department come to an end.  The decision not to renew Billdt's long-term contract and begin the search for his replacement marks the end of a tumultuous era in San Bernardino Police Department history and is a move that is welcomed by virtually every officer within the Department. 

While there are many reasons for Billdt's ultimate demise, among them is his failure to treat the officers he leads equally and with respect.  The most recent example involves the case of Sergeant Steve Lowes.  Sergeant Lowes has spent the better part of the last two and a half years enduring Billdt's vindictive wrath, all for simply exercising his right to file a grievance. 

Throughout his 25-year career, Lowes had done everything expected of him.  He had been a model employee, with a clean disciplinary record and a history of exemplary performance.  In April 2006, he was assigned as the sergeant in charge of the Department's MET team.  He, along with three other sergeants, filed a grievance against their lieutenant, who had been harassing officers and creating a hostile work environment.  Little did he know that this grievance, and his refusal to back down, would force him in to the fight of his life. 

A month after filing the grievance, in May 2006, Billdt confronted Lowes and attempted to extort him into withdrawing the grievance by making an open internal affairs investigation "go away."  However, Lowes was confident that the investigation was a sham, and would not give in.  At the same time, lieutenant Brian Boom, a man considered by officers to be Billdt's "hatchet man," confided in another lieutenant that Billdt wanted to punish Lowes by transferring him out of his MET position as a result of the grievance.  Still again, after another failed attempt to get Lowes to end the grievance, Billdt threatened Lowes telling him that if he would not end the grievance, he was going to "do something for the good of the department."  In response, Lowes said only that he too was trying to do something for the good of the department. 

Immediately after it became clear that Lowes would not give in, he was hit with an onslaught of internal affairs investigations alleging misconduct and negligent performance, including the sham investigation Billdt had previously offered to make "go away."  Lowes was noticed of discipline for three different incidents: two 80-hour suspensions and a demotion.  Almost overnight, Lowes went from an outstanding officer and a department leader, to a disciplinary problem.  Rather than back down, Lowes decided to fight back.

Lowes retained Lackie, Dammeier & McGill who immediately filed a retaliation lawsuit against Billdt, seeking punitive damages for his malicious actions.  At the same time, Lowes also appealed his 80-hour suspension and demotion.  Lowes would not take any deals he was offered along the way and was looking forward to proving his innocence at a administrative hearing. 

At the administrative hearing, Billdt would bear the burden of proving that Lowes committed the acts of misconduct and that the discipline imposed was appropriate.  In recognition of this fact, and knowing that he had done nothing wrong, Lowes waived his privacy rights and requested open hearings and invited the media to attend. 

When forced to justify his allegations against Lowes, Billdt refused to do so.  In an unprecedented act, Billdt abruptly decided to "sustain" the allegations against Lowes, but decided that "no discipline" was appropriate.  Rather than have to face the music, Billdt backed down and rescinded two of the three discipline cases-the 80-hour suspension and the demotion.  Since no discipline was actually imposed, and because Billdt indicated the sustained allegations couldn't be used against Lowes for personnel purposes, Billdt claimed that Lowes was no longer entitled to an appeal hearing. 

Thus, after facing such severe discipline as a demotion and having his livelihood threatened, Lowes has received only a 80-hour suspension that is currently being challenged in his retaliation lawsuit.       

Billdt's vindictiveness had become so evident that he soon began to alienate the San Bernardino Police Officers Association.  The Association had been experiencing its own problems with Billdt, who had reneged on numerous promises, and had refused to address the Association's claim of cronyism after Billdt promoted most of his friends.  Billdt's treatment of Lowes, in addition to these other problems, eventually led to a vote of no confidence by an overwhelming majority of Association members in 2008.  Soon thereafter, the decision by the City to search for a new chief was made. 

Although Sergeant Lowes is happy that he has prevailed in these recent hearings, he is disappointed that he was not given a chance to publicly challenge the bogus allegations made against him.  Nonetheless, he looks forward to his upcoming trial where Billdt will have to explain himself, and won't be able to escape so easily.