Haymarket Police Chief James Roop, Deputy Gregory Breeden and Officer Jacob Davis remain on suspension today, following a an emergency meeting of the Haymarket Town Council Friday in which the Mayor’s veto was overruled.
The Council voted to override Mayor David Leake’s veto, but the real confusion was over the interpretation of two conflicting documents that outline the town’s laws and procedures.
The Suspensions
The issue dates back to December when a grievance was brought forth against the Haymarket Police Chief, Deputy and Officer. On Jan. 20, the Town Council voted to suspended those officers without pay for 60 days. The votes were nearly unanimous.
While the Mayor and Council refuse to discuss the personnel matter publically, the Council officially recorded “inappropriate behavior and loss of confidence” as the cause of the men’s suspension. Further, they were required to undergo sexual harassment counseling.
On Thursday, Officers Breeden and Davis challenged the Council’s ruling, sending the Council and Town Manager their intent to appeal the actions.
The Veto
In response to their appeals, Mayor Leake issued vetoes of the suspensions as well as other punitive and administrative actions taken by the Council. In a statement, Leake said he issued the vetoes because “the internal investigation done by the Council was not performed by qualified personnel. The decisions made and motions made were based on this flawed investigation which was conducted by members not properly trained, experienced and licensed to conduct such an investigation.”
Upon hearing of the Mayor’s vote, the Town Council called for an emergency meeting to be held on Friday evening.
Emergency Meeting
At that meeting, The Council members ran through each of Mayor Leake’s vetoes separately. They included the three suspensions, the appointment of Town Manager Brian Henshaw to take charge over the Police Department, the requirement that officers turn in their badges, guns and cars, and a motion restricting Roop for hiring, firing or taking disciplinary action against his employees until June.
The Council achieved the ¾ majority vote required to override each of the vetoes. While four out of the five passed unanimously, Councilwoman Katherine Harnest voted not to override the vetoing of Deputy Gregory Breeden’s suspension.
Discussion of Vetoes
Although discussion time was offered before each vote, Council members chose not to discuss the first two motions.
However, before the third motion was voted upon, Mayor Leake asked, “How are we getting around our General Orders that give these guys due right and due process?”
Vice Mayor Jay Tobias, who also serves on the Council, answered that the Town Attorney, who was unable to attend the meeting, had previously informed the Mayor that the grievance policy in the General Orders does not apply because the grievance was not within the department, but was taken directly to the Council.
Leake argued that the General Orders policy read “all grievances,” not “some grievances” and thus should be handled by the Mayor.
In response, Tobias argued that the Town Charter is the overriding document. But Leake disputed that notion, saying that the Town Charter was written in the 1950-60s while the General Orders were written in 2007, implying that it revised the earlier document.
Tobias refuted that. Then the Council returned to voting on their motions.
Public Disruption
At least one citizen who attended the meeting resorted to shouting over the Mayor and Council. The woman, who sounded quite angry, said the Mayor and Council had to remember they were elected to represent the people. She also made some disparaging remarks about the elected officials. She said she would not have to shout out of turn if she had been allowed time to speak.
Citizens' Time
While approximately 24 citizens attended the meeting, none were allowed to speak. The Mayor requested Citizens' Time, but the Council refused, saying it is not how they run emergency meetings.
Leake told Bristow Beat he felt the citizens who came out should have been allowed to speak.
However, in a phone interview with Vice Mayor Tobias, he said the Town Council had already told citizens, who called or emailed to ask, that they would not hold Citizens' Time. Further, he said that as the personnel matter could not be publicly discussed, the citizens could not offer an educated opinion on the private matter.
Mayor Leake’s Response
After the meeting, Mayor Leake spoke with Bristow Beat. He admitted he was disappointed in the outcome. He said that bringing in outside investigators, rather than issuing a suspension, is standard protocol when dealing with police officers. Additionally he said it was the most “fair and equitable” way to deal with the matter.
“To me it’s very simple that this was the right thing to do,” Leake said.
He further argued the General Orders made it quite clear that the Mayor should handle all employee grievances. He shared the document, which read:
All grievances shall be presented to the Mayor who will make every effort (sic) resolve any problems that might arise. However, if after consulting with the mayor, the employee is not satisfied, he/she can put the grievance in writing and present to the Town Council.
Lastly, Leake said that holding an independent investigation would protect the officers' rights and protect the town from lawsuits.
Vice Mayor’s Response
Vice Mayor Tobias said the Council's actions reflected the guidance they had received from the Town Attorney.
“The standard operating procedure for the police department never came into play, because it never involved an actual complaint among the employees. It was brought to our attention,” Tobias said.
He also said that the General Orders say that while grievances are brought to the Mayor, the Council has the last word on the issue.
Finally, he said, as a Council member, he was insulted that the Mayor choose to override their suspension with a veto; he believes other Council members felt the same.
“He knew that the original action passed by a super majority; instead he chose to veto the actions, causing the Council to hold an emergency meeting. To me that just seems that he wants to have the power and the rules to go in his favor. Unfortunately that’s not how a democracy works,” Tobias said.
Citizens' Reactions
Tobias said that citizens appeared to be split on the issue with some siding with the Council and some siding with the Mayor.
However, he said in this matter, they cannot really weigh in directly, since so much of the information needs to remain private. He said there will be a Citizens' Time at the Jan. 28 meeting; he explained that they hold Citizens' Time at every regular meeting.
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