|
Southlake Police Sgt. Jayson Steele, who
was placed on paid leave by the city on Jan. 30 after filing a notice
with the city under the Whistleblower Act, has filed a hostile work
environment/harassment complaint against Police Chief Wade Goolsby.
Another such complaint was filed last October by Lt. Mike Kenny. Kenny
was placed on administrative leave at the time and after an
investigation was fired in January. He appealed and was recently
reinstated.
Steele’s attorney, Terry Hickey, told the Journal
that she believes the city has hired a Dallas law firm to handle the
investigation of Steele and “also gather as much as they can about
other police officers” in the ongoing controversy regarding the
leadership of Police Chief Wade Goolsby and others city administrators
including “[DPS Director and Assistant City Manager Jim] Blagg, [Human
Resources Director Kevin] Hugman and [others].”
According to
Hickey, Marigny Lanier, a partner in Maris & Lanier, a law firm
specializing in serving businesses and employers, is interviewing
Steele and others regarding Steele’s complaint. Hickey, who said she
has been prevented from sitting in on the interviews “on the order of
City Manager Shana Yelverton,” has been provided tapes of the meetings.
The
city would neither confirm nor deny the relationship with Maris &
Lanier, and would not comment on the meetings, saying that personnel
matters were involved. City spokeswoman Pilar Schank confirmed that the
investigation regarding Steele is ongoing. Marigny Lanier did not
return phone calls.
Hickey, who filed a hostile work
environment/harassment complaint on behalf of Steele on March 4, said
Steele has been questioned “about the recent Tarrant County grand jury
proceedings and other things not related to his original complaint.”
Hickey
said that in her opinion, from listening to the tapes of the sessions,
that Lanier “seems to be more focused on finding out what kind of
evidence he has to support his claims and what kind of exposure the
city might have in a future lawsuit.”
When asked why Steele did
not file the complaint until this month, Hickey said that he waited for
the district attorney’s report.
“When we got word there would
be no indictments, Steele felt obligated to report the violations to
the city manager, since his attempt to report the wrongdoing to the
mayor and a council woman resulted in his being investigated,” Hickey
said.
“Steele feels strongly about the unethical behavior and
conduct that has occurred,” Hickey stated, “and believes, although it
may not be criminal, [that] it is wrong and he is obligated to report
it. Steele will continue in his efforts until someone will listen with
an open mind ...”
Hickey said the initial 25-page complaint filed
by Steele was followed by a two-page amendment, which is “a formal IAD
[Internal Affairs Division] complaint for Goolsby violating ... general
orders in discussing specific details of Steele’s ongoing IAD
investigation in roll-calls with all the officers.”
Last year a
number of Southlake police officers complained to the Tarrant County
District Attorney’s office about the leadership of the department.
Officers alleged that Goolsby showed favoritism to some wealthy
residents and that his leadership style in the department included
intimidation and favoritism.
The district attorney did not find
evidence of criminal wrongdoing and no grand jury indictments followed
the investigation. However, in an unusual move, the district attorney’s
office issued a nine-page report that raised questions about some of
Goolsby’s decisions.
The city, in response to the report, has
hired a consulting firm to study the issues raised by the report. The
results are expected between the middle and the end of May.
|
