Berkeley Police Department’s public information officer will be leaving her post as spokesperson soon.
In an email Wednesday, Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said she will soon be rotating back to patrol “to allow others to have the opportunity” to fill the position she has occupied on and off for about 10 years.
It is not clear who will be replacing Kusmiss or when the change will go into effect.
Kusmiss was recently involved in a controversy when Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan sent her to the home of an Oakland Tribune reporter after midnight to request changes to a story that Meehan felt inaccurately portrayed statements he had made.
Kusmiss said she was sent because Meehan had not been able to reach Oakley by phone or email, according to local news blog Berkeleyside. While Oakley agreed to make some changes to the story, he was intimidated by the incident – which First Amendment experts said “reeked of intimidation and attempted censorship,” The Oakland Tribune reported. In released statements, both Meehan and his supervisor – Berkeley’s interim City Manager Christine Daniel – denounced his actions as inappropriate.
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What do you expect, she’s an idiot.