Police Chief Rodney Monroe is our Anthony Grant of law enforcement.

Grant, as you know, is the highly successful basketball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and the object of wooing from big-time universities. VCU recently gave him major-college money in the hope that he'll stay awhile.

Monroe, in the parlance of college hoops, is a mid-major police chief who has created national buzz by presiding over a significant drop in homicides during his three-year tenure in Richmond.

In law-enforcement circles, he's got name and game.

Charlotte, N.C., is but the latest city to check out Monroe. He's a finalist for the police chief job in the Queen City, whose officials will make a decision within the next week or so.

Even if Richmond dodges this bullet, we're only buying time. Monroe will land on another city's wish list.

Of course, we want Monroe to stay. But we should also be proud that Richmond has a highly regarded police chief. Face it: we're a stepping-stone for talented, ambitious professionals. You usually aren't a lifer here unless you have strong ties to the area or simply aren't in demand.

As his stock soars to the stratosphere, Monroe is no fool. Crime being as random as it is cyclical, he's not going to wait around for folks to get a notion to start shooting each other again.

None of this stopped Mayor L. Douglas Wilder from throwing a hissy fit this week.

Wilder called a news conference Tuesday to praise Monroe and bury the City Council, making the bogus claim that it "had slashed the chief's budget every year that he's been here." The mayor's office was later forced to admit that the council had reduced only the mayor's recommended police budget, and that the actual police budget had increased every year since Monroe's arrival.

The silly blame game wasn't the only funny thing about Wilder's news conference. The mayor refused to take questions after his 17-minute rant.

Memo to mayor: A news conference (Webster's: "the act of conversing or consulting on a serious matter") is not a monologue. Q&A is implied.

Look, Charlotte is three times the size of Richmond; it's America's 20th largest city and a national financial hub. It features towering office buildings and relatively new stadiums. It has a demonstrable reputation for getting things done. It's big league. It represents a splendid opportunity for Monroe.

But Wilder provides Monroe with added incentive to leave.

Sure, Wilder hired Monroe -- smartest thing the mayor's done. But he's a potential liability to the chief.

He used police to bar public entry to an ongoing Richmond School Board meeting during the ludicrous and expensive attempt to evict the board from City Hall. And he received a $700-a-month car allowance despite being driven around by a city police detail installed by Monroe.

The pugnacious Wilder needs the popular Monroe if he plans to seek re-election. Wilder's signature accomplishment as mayor has been the reduction of violent crime. Monroe is the mayor's most valuable political asset.

Monroe, as much as the eight sworn officers charged with guarding Wilder, has been the mayor's security blanket. Wilder can ill-afford the departure of his MVP.
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.