Vancouver police administrators deliberately passed over police guild President Officer Ryan Martin for a special assignment in 2009 because of his union involvement, a state agency for employee relations has ruled.
A Dec. 23 ruling by the state Public Employment Relations Commission found that police administration “deprived Martin of an ascertainable right, benefit, or status,” and broke the law when it did not choose Martin to fill one of two open traffic enforcement positions in June 2009.
The commission ordered the city to give Martin a spot in the Motor Officers Unit within 30 days, read the decision aloud at a city council meeting and post the order “in conspicuous places.”
To view the full Public Employment Relations Commission ruling, visit http://www.perc.wa.gov/Databases/ULP/10621-A.htm
On Thursday, Martin called the decision “a big deal.”
“We’ve been saying for years now that this type of stuff has been taking place internally,” he said. “It shows there continues to be bias and discrimination in the department. When is it going to end, when is it going to stop?”
He pointed to the $1.65 million discrimination settlement given to Officer Navin Sharma (who died of cancer Dec. 24) and the reinstatement of Lt. Doug Luse by an arbitrator as other key findings against the city. (In both cases, the city continues to deny wrongdoing). The Vancouver Police Guild also sustained a vote of no confidence against Chief Cliff Cook in April.
“When is the city manager going to listen, when is the city council going to listen?” Martin asked.
Vancouver City Manager Eric Holmes said the city will appeal the PERC ruling.
“I can unequivocally say that the involvement of Ryan in his union never played any role in his employment conditions,” Holmes said. Respecting unions is a responsibility “we take very seriously. We’re always honoring and respecting our relationships and responsibilities under the law. I’m confident that’s the case across my entire leadership team.”
The city has 20 days from the Dec. 23 ruling to file a notice of appeal, PERC Executive Director Cathleen Callahan said Thursday. The appeal is then reviewed by a three-member commission. Until that decision is made, the examiner’s order remains on hold, she said.
Motorcycle duty
Martin has been president of the 181-member police union since January 2009, and was one of four officers who applied for two spots on a new traffic enforcement unit in June 2009, according the PERC investigation.
Though the pay is the same, a spot on the motor unit includes a take-home BMW motorcycle and is considered “a desirable assignment,” PERC examiner Charity Atchison wrote.
A selection panel headed by Assistant Chief Chris Sutter selected one officer, Scott Neill, right away, and narrowed the choice for the second slot to Martin and Officer John Davis. Chief Cook made the final decision; the panel’s duty was to provide recommendations.
Davis was ultimately selected over Martin, with Sutter and one other on the panel saying that they were concerned that Martin’s use of leave time could be detrimental to a small unit. But Atchison noted that Neill, the panel’s unanimous choice, actually used 41.5 more hours of leave that year than Martin.
“Sutter asserted that his only concern with selecting Martin to the motors position was his leave use,” she wrote. “However, Sutter testified that he wanted someone for the position who shared the chief’s ‘vision.’ Sutter’s statement suggests that by looking for someone who shared the chief’s vision, he wanted someone who did not make statements or engage in activities in opposition to the chief, as Martin did in his capacity as union president.”
Just a few months before the June 2009 interview, Martin and the guild had released a public “Statement of Guild Concerns” that outlined issues they saw in the department, including cronyism, disparate treatment and favoritism. Cook, Sutter and Assistant Chief Nannette Kistler were all named in the nine-page document.
‘Tainted’
The PERC examiner also criticized the department for failing to follow its own selection panel guidelines, which it said ultimately led to a “tainted” recommendation.
The selection panel was to include Sutter, Kistler, Lt. Amy Foster, Cpl. Bob Schoene and Human Resources Manager Lee Knottnerus. But that day, both Kistler and Knottnerus left work before the interviews to tend to sick children.
When the choice for the second open spot on the unit was narrowed to Davis and Martin, Sutter and Foster (who is Kistler’s domestic partner), wanted Davis. Schoene, who is the supervisor of officers in the traffic unit, wanted Martin.
“At some point during this discussion, Schoene realized he would not change Sutter’s mind about Martin; he testified that “at his level” he did not feel he would change Sutter’s mind,” Atchison wrote.
Atchison recounted several points where Sutter and Foster applied standards in favorable ways to the other candidates, and counted them against Martin. They then took that recommendation to hire Neill and Davis onto the Motor Officer Unit.
“Although Cook’s decision not to select Martin was not substantially based on union animus, he relied in making that decision on a tainted recommendation from Sutter,” the PERC examiner wrote.
But Martin, who is stepping down as guild president as of today, said that the responsibility still lies with Cook for discrimination against him.
“Being a decision-maker, Chief Cook would have created a more objective process in the selection panel,” he said.
He said he wasn’t surprised the city is appealing the PERC finding.
“They continue to believe that what they’re doing isn’t wrong and it’s OK to discriminate against their own employees,” he said. “When is the management going to establish and nurture a good working relationship with the guild? If we had a trusting relationship with our management, we would be able to bring it up before it ever got to that point.”
Andrea Damewood: 360-735-4542 or andrea.damewood@columbian.com.
