No accountability in Washington State home of the PC Sheep!
Report: SPD mounted patrol boss pilfered hay, tools, ATV for personal use
The sergeant, who retired in lieu of being fired, was also accused of changing clothes in the women's locker room
By LYNSI BURTON, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Published 5:42 pm, Thursday, January 14, 2016
Disciplinary reports indicate that the supervisor of the Seattle Police Department's Mounted Patrol Unit (MPU) retired in October before the chief could fire him for taking city-owned hay, tools and an ATV for personal use.
Former Sgt. James Scott, a 28-year veteran at the Seattle Police Department, was found by the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) not only to have taken city property home, but also disobeyed orders by repeatedly contacting witnesses in the investigation against him.
Furthermore, reports say he shared a women's locker room with a female subordinate, creating a "hostile work environment."
2014-0664 & 2015-0287, Final DAR Packet_Redacted
Scott's alleged conduct spurred two OPA investigations and one Equal Employment Opportunity Commission case -- the latter involving the locker room issue.
A memo dated Aug. 12, 2015 outlines the OPA's findings: That Scott took 15 to 20 city-purchased bales of hay, worth about $425, from the unit to feed his or his neighbor's personal animals.
Documents indicate Scott resided in Graham, south of Puyallup in Pierce County.
Scott reportedly admitted to taking the hay, saying it was "bad," so he took it home instead of trying to return it to the vendor or compost it, the memo says.
He also took a $325 harrow, or arena rake, to his home. He claimed in an interview that he thought the harrow had been donated to the Mounted Patrol Unit, but it was purchased in 2008 by a previous MPU sergeant for the SPD.
Furthermore, Scott housed one of his own horses at the MPU facility for about six weeks, during which time subordinates helped care for it and feed it, OPA reports indicate. Scott told OPA investigators he brought the horse to the MPU barn so he could exercise it before and after work and so that it could be evaluated for police use. However, reports say Scott's horse was not considered a mounted patrol candidate.
A November 2015 disciplinary report added that Scott also took home a city-owned all-terrain vehicle known as a Gator. While being asked about his use of the Gator, he reportedly lied in OPA interviews about how many times he took the Gator home, the nature and number of repairs he made to the Gator and whether he knew his wife -- a former Seattle police officer -- was using the Gator. He then said his wife, who retired in April 2015 due to disabilities, had medical reasons for using the Gator at their home.
OPA also found that Scott spoke to his wife about details of the investigations into his behavior, against department policy.
The EEOC investigation involved complaints made by a female employee that Scott insisted on using the women's locker room to change clothes. The November disciplinary report indicates that Scott claimed he wanted to "permit male officers to have a separation from you as their supervisor," but, the report continues, "This was not a benefit provided to the female officer." The conduct allegedly created "an uncomfortable and difficult working environment" for the woman using the locker room and violated department policy.
Scott had previously removed the officer from the MPU and wrote to authorities that her complaints were a retaliation against him.
Instead of attending a Loudermill hearing to discuss the future of his employment, he retired on Oct. 15, 2015.
The November disciplinary report, signed by Chief Kathleen O'Toole, indicated she would have fired Scott had he not retired.
Scott worked for SPD for nearly 29 years. His scheduled salary in 2015 was more than $120,000, according to SPD salary records.
Common sense is a flower that doesn't grow in everyone's garden!
