RUNYON INVESTIGATION REVISITED: HOW IS IT THAT THERE WASN'T TIME DO IT RIGHT, BUT THERE'S TIME DO IT OVER

We interrupt what was supposed to be a discussion of the NFL draft to bring you this update in the lurching story of the City of Hannibal's attempts to sever its relationship with its police chief.

Once again, I have no idea whether the Hannibal Police Chief is guilty of anything. I do think it would have been a pretty good idea to determine whether the (non-existent) police board had the power to discipline the chief or if that power had mysteriously passed on to the City Manager. A lot of courts and administrative agencies start their opinions and orders with a statement of their jurisdiction and authority. That might have been useful here.

Hell, I'm not even saying the CM doesn't have the authority. This seems like a less than optimal time to be arguing over it, after the guy's been semi-fired for more than a month. This is just a gut feeling by a spectator but it seems to strain due process and equal protection for one guy to commission the investigation and make the recommendation to can the chief with no neutral deciding body to evaluate the evidence and hear from the Chief. Maybe I'm just an old fashioned strict constructionist but this sounds more like China than an American State.

On the other hand, I guess Chief Runyon knew he ran the risk of being canned by essentially one guy when he took the job.