An attorney for the Tulare Police Chief says the city’s mayor overstepped his legal bounds and is demanding immediate action by city council.
Chief Wes Hensley has been on paid administrative leave for 80 days – and he appears tired of it.
In a letter from Hensley’s attorney, Michael Lampe, to the city attorney, Heather Phillips dated December 14, Lampe is insisting the issue of an investigation for the reasoning behind the chief’s leave be placed in the Tulare City Council’s hands – well, council minus its mayor.
“I am asking that this request be placed on the City Council Agenda for its next regularly scheduled meeting. Chief Hensley hereby waives any privacy rights with respect to this agenda item.
“As we have previously advised, we will insist that any administrative hearing, whether conducted by the City Council or an independent hearing officer, be held in public, as Chief Hensley has nothing to hide.”
Included with the letter were a series of exhibits, including the original Notice of Administrative Leave initiated by the city manager, Joe Carlini, and served to Hensley by Phillips. That notice gave a reference of misconduct by the chief on a specific date: Friday, September 22.
It did not reference what the alleged misconduct was.
Since that day, neither Hensley nor Lampe have received any information from the city, despite numerous attempts by Lampe for information, the attorney said.
The original Notice of Administrative Leave stated, “The City intends to contract with an outside investigator in this matter. That investigator will contact you, or your representative, to schedule an investigative interview at an appropriate time and place if the investigator determines such interview be necessary.”
Let the Investigation Begin
The problem: it had been 78 days (according to the letter dated Dec. 14), and as of yet, no investigation has begun. According to Carlini, the hiring of the investigator is up to Phillips. It is Carlini’s understanding, he said, that an investigator has now been specified and a contract is currently being negotiated. Therefore, an investigation should begin, not only into the matter of the chief, but also in regard to TPD Capt. Fred Ynclan and Lt. Jerod Boatman, who were each placed on administrative leave on November 7. All three incidents will be handled by the same investigator, Carlini said.
The Voice previously reported the three were not placed on leave for the same reason(s) as Carlini had stated.
However, it is looking more like the reasoning has a lot of commonality. Carlini also stated in the past that Hensley’s leave was “nothing criminal in nature.”
Now, he says he cannot confirm that nor for Ynclan or Boatman.
A press release was issued on December 5 from Roger Wilson, an attorney representing the Tulare Police Officers’ Union, sharing concern within the department regarding some of the command staff being placed on leave.
It also cited a poll taken within the Union. The poll, Union President James Kelly said, was prompted by a petition demanding immediate resolution for the command staff officers. The petition was generated by concerned citizens prior to the December 5 city council meeting and to date has received some 132 signatures.
Tulare Police Officers Union Poll
The union poll, was submitted to all voting union members via e-mail, Kelly said, and the result was 29 in favor of Carlini’s decision to place Hensley, Ynclan and Boatman on paid administrative leave during an investigation.
The other 21 potential votes not cast, were mostly not because of disagreeing, but rather because of fright, Kelly added.
The second question on the poll was whether the officers have confidence in Chief Hensley.
Those 29 votes said they did not. Other officers, Kelly said, did not want to admit to their lack of confidence in the chief – they fear for their jobs, he added.
The Union is comprised of mostly of the ranks from police officer to corporal. It is those ranks that define the voting membership.
There are some higher ranking sergeants who also belong to the union, but they are not a part of the voting membership.
Anyone who is employed by the TPD is welcome to join the union, including its support staff, or non-sworn officers up to the police chief.
There are three major benefits to the union, Kelly explained. It provides:
Information and membership of the Peace Officers Research Association of California.
Long-term benefits to members, beyond what the TPD itself offers.
Legal representation and advice.
Beyond the voting membership, there are provisions desirable to some of the higher ranks and support staff, although the support staff can also, and mostly do, belong to a union that represents other city employees. Nearly all current officers and corporals belong to the union, Kelly said, save for recent hires who remain in training, or those who just have not gotten around to signing up yet.
From Those Who Say They Know
Responses to a previous Voice article, “Tulare Police Chief Still Has Job, Despite Union Misgivings” written by Dave Adalian, have been numerous.
The article followed the December 5 council meeting which exposed tensions that continue to escalate between the chief, his attorney and those citizens who support him, the city staff and council, and the officers who protect the city on a daily basis. Some rank-and-file police officers authored some of the comments.
AnonymousOfficer (AO) asked readers:
Are you aware that the chief stood against his people getting a raise during the last negotiation (even though he negotiated a 15% increase in his own pay)?
Are you aware he went as far as actively campaigning against them by telling the council that his people don’t need anymore money.
Are you aware the chief called his officers “dumb asses” to another chief at a social gathering…with one of his own officers present!? The reason for the insult was that his people were fighting for higher wages (which is a battle they won after an independent arbiter stepped in).
Are you aware the chief and his command staff have threatened to derail the careers of specific employees if they disagree with him?
Are you aware that if you met with the chief and his staff and it didn’t go well they would immediately take childish action against you? Meeting doesn’t go well so you aren’t allowed to eat with any of your fellow officers while on duty.
Are you aware the punishment for violations of policy differ dependent on who you are and your current rank? Accident discharge of you firearm in field by officer….major problems. Desk pop by command staff…hilarity, back slaps and then a slap on the wrist.
Are you aware that the chief launched personal insults at an employee, who wasn’t present, at a management retreat simply because that employee was a member of the union board?
Are you aware the command staff and the chief attempted to implement body cameras without a policy in place and when he was advised of the legal ramifications of implementing this system without a policy he sent his attack dog, a captain, out and he told a union board member, F you, F Roger, and F the union we don’t need to have a policy in place and we don’t need to meet and confer with you (which is a legal requirement, btw)?
Are you aware that union members were forced to step down from the board under threat of having their career ruined? Yup, a lieutenant pulls specific members aside and tells them that it is not good for their career to continue to be a union member.
Are you aware the chief ran an internal affairs investigation into what was said at a union meeting? A conversation which he and everyone else knew was privileged. The goal, simply to teach the union president a lesson. The result was unfounded but the stress it caused the union president sent the message.
Are you aware that members of the command staff regularly refer to female officers by derogatory names? But the chief has failed to do anything.
Are you aware that sexual harassment has been a long standing issue at the department? Yet chief has failed to take appropriate action to curb this behavior.
Are you aware that physical and verbal abuse are constant issues within the department? People have been physically assaulted! But the chief has failed to address this issue.
Are you aware that the chief failed to take action against an employee who was arrested for sex trafficking?
Are you aware that 10%-15% of the police force is currently looking for employment elsewhere. The reason these people are looking is due to how they are treated by command staff on a daily basis.
Are you aware that we have lost 3 tenured officers to outside agencies recently? And the reason they’re all gone is because of how they were treated by specific members of the command staff.
AO has been confirmed by Voice staff as a viable source for his comments, although we cannot confirm, at this time, the accuracy of his comments.
AO states that he hopes that with the investigation, these will be proven. He remains anonymous because he has a job and family to protect, he said. He did wish to correct his remark regarding the chief negotiating his own pay to say 12-15%, not a clear 15%. He does not wish to promote incorrect information, he said.
In his comments, AO accused the Voice and other reporting as to not digging deep enough and providing “puff pieces.”
He asked, “Is that enough for you, Valley Voice! Can you finally start doing some investigative journalism instead of the puff pieces and pro chief b.s. that you’ve been running for the past two months? You have some information to look into! Stop the ‘Pro Hensley’ b.s. and start investigating! Do your job and start poking around.”
He backed away from a bit during an interview, commenting on the article to which he was referring was actually an opinion piece.
However, in another online statement, AO said, “Sexual harassment, verbal abuse, assault, intimidation, union busting, etc. are all serious issues, and all have occurred with frightening frequency at the Tulare Police Department. These are serious problems and they need to be addressed, but you seem to want to ignore these problems and then deflect the conversation onto Mayor [Carlton] Jones.”
The Mayor’s Involvement
Mayor Jones is part of the problem, according to Lampe’s letter to the city manager. Lampe cited several episodes, the latest of which Lampe said of a Facebook post made by Jones, “crossed the line.”
The post appears to be a screenshot of AO’s comments from the Voice website.
“Are you aware that chief ran an internal affairs investigation into what was said at a union meeting? A conversation which he and everyone else knew was privileged. The goal, simply to teach the union president a lesson. The result was unfounded but the stress it caused the union president sent the message.”
“This statement is completely false, and the mayor knows it is false,” Lampe said in his letter. “The investigation that he refers to was actually an investigation into the mayor’s improper, and possibly illegal, use of a city-issued credit card.
“The mayor’s statement is not only false, in constitutes an outrageous violation of Chief Hensley’s rights under both the Peace Officers Bill of Rights and the City of Tulare’s personnel rules.”
Also included was evidence of a meeting between the mayor, Kelly and a third party.
A restaurant receipt dated September 16 was exhibited in which Jones had requested reimbursement for a meal during a meeting he had with “Mayor Jones dinner w/TPOU Kelly + 1” as noted by Jones.
Further, on November 14, Lampe states:
“In order that Chief Hensley be afforded due process, and to protect his reputation from further harm, we asked that the mayor do the following:
Publicly retract his remarks to KTIP Radio of November 6, 2017;
Publicly announce that he will not seek additional “updates” regarding personnel matters; and
Publicly announce that he will take no part in any action before the City Council, should such action arise, concerning any disciplinary action against the chief relating to the alleged incident on September 22, 2017.
The mayor has refused all three of these requests.”
Lampe also states, despite requests, the chief has not been allowed to view his own personnel file and was attacked by the mayor during a K-TIP radio interview.
City Attorney’s Release to Media
Following Lampe’s letter and the majority of this article being placed on the Voice website, the city’s attorney, Phillips, sent out a media release on Dec. 18.
It stated, in part, “Contrary to the letter’s assertions, Mayor Jones did not make the statements attributed to him by Mr. Lampe. It appears that the statements were made by an unidentified officer at TPD, in response to a Valley Voice article that was posted online. The City is reviewing the allegations made by the unidentified officer, to the extent that they allege misconduct and/or mismanagement within the Police Department.”
Neither Lampe, nor the Voice, stated that Jones was the originator of those remarks.
While Phillips states in her release, the comments were made by an unidentified officer – it is not clear whether she is going on an assumption of such, or may have confirmed the comments of the source.
Citizens Are Concerned
In response to a Voice online article, Tulare resident Tim Curlee commented:
“I have no idea where the truth lies when it comes to the suspension of Chief Hensley, etc. However…
If Chief Hensley has done what he is accused of by anonymous posters here and elsewhere on the VV website, there needs to be a swift, thorough investigation (no, those are not dichotomous).
If the culture within the police department is as bad as anonymous posters claim it is, there needs to be a swift, thorough investigation of the Chief Hensley.
If the accusations against Chief Hensley are false and politically motivated, there needs to be a swift, thorough investigation.
Wherever the truth lies, there needs to be a swift, thorough investigation.
But this is not what Tulare is getting. Instead it has been 80 days since Hensley was placed on Notice of Administrative Leave and the investigation has not even begun. This is at best incompetence. At worst this is malfeasance. Probably both.
Nothing from this incident inspires confidence in how the city of Tulare is currently being competently managed or lead. Instead it reinforces the perception of many Tulare citizens that this city is being run by fools, charlatans and hucksters. If city manager, attorney, mayor and council wants to dispel that perception, seeing to a swift end to this fiasco would be a good start.”
Curlee further stated in an interview, “I stated my actual name in part because I am not happy by the number of anonymous comments being made on the internet by people of both sides of the debate but in particular the critics of the chief who claim to work for him. It’s quite easy to type bile and sarcasm at and about your fellow citizens in the comments when one is using a nom de plume.”
He also questions the expense of an outside investigation, “If he [Hensley] hasn’t violated any laws,” Curlee said.
In addition, the city is paying many thousands of dollars for TPD personnel to sit on paid administrative leave.
The three command staff officers are not the only ones – Jackie Coffman, a community services officer, was placed on administrative leave in August, 2016, when she was arrested by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office for alleged involvement in a sex trafficking ring.
Her court date is set for early March. It is not clear if the department intends to keep her on the payroll until the outcome of that trial. The total the city is currently paying out for those on leave is more than $42,000 per month.
Should Council Become Involved?
Lampe asked the city council to place it on the next meeting agenda taking the matter out of the city manager’s hands and allowing Hensley an administrative hearing by council or by an independent hearing officer.
He added that Mayor Jones should be not take part of the process, “for obvious reasons.”
In an interview, Lampe said that the mayor went on Facebook rampage upon receiving the letter. His rants were taken down sometime later, Lampe added.
“Facebook really is a platform for 14-year-olds,” he said. “The mayor really ought to stay off of it.”
Regarding AO, and others, Lampe added, “It’s easy to make allegations under anonymity, I’d be happy to take their testimony on the record.”
Lampe’s request was not placed on the agenda for the Dec. 19 meeting. Councilman Jose Sigala said he is in receipt of the letter.
At the Dec. 5 meeting, he requested council to receive an update as to the situation of the on-leave TPD staff in closed session. No other council members thought it appropriate at the time.
Sigala said he will make a further request as to just how much the upcoming investigation may cost, as council is responsible for the city budget. He further stated he found Lampe’s letter informative and has learned things that council and the public had not been privy to prior.
Meanwhile, Tulare citizens want further answers – and an investigation has yet to begin.
Of course, so do Hensley and the Tulare PD, and everyone else involved.