City Calls Accusations Against Police Chief Candidate Unfounded

The process of picking a new police chief for the city has been quietly stalled for weeks by allegations the leading contender for the job has been part of a “good ol’ boys network” that has created an atmosphere of sexual harassment and discrimination within the department.

But after investigating those accusations, city officials say they have found them to be unfounded and are now leaning toward appointing Mike Tracy, 49, the new chief.

“I’ve heard criticisms of Mike and it’s part of the reason I wanted a full background check,” City Manager Donna Landeros said. “But we’ve been doing this for the past four months now. If there was a smoking gun, I think it would have come up by now.”

Sheriff Bob Brooks, asked to conduct the background check, is expected to submit a report on his findings to Landeros and other council members Tuesday. That report will be discussed during a closed meeting.

Brooks said the accusations have “complicated the background process,” prompting him to interview 25 people in an effort to determine whether there is any truth to the discrimination and harassment accusations.

“It was far more extensive than what we normally do,” Brooks said. “We were asked to look at any problematic area. Once we found that information out, we wanted to get to the bottom of it so there would not be any surprises for the city.”

More than half a dozen former female department employees, some of whom are Latino, say they were forced to resign because of a hostile work environment that exists for minorities.

Three of the women have retained an attorney and say they plan to file a civil lawsuit--alleging they were treated different than their white counterparts--against the department in the next few weeks.

Such accusations are what caused city officials to take a hard look at the department as part of deciding whether Tracy should become the new chief.

But in an interview Friday, Tracy flatly denied the harassment and discrimination accusations.

“I don’t see this department as a ‘good ol’ boys network,’ ” said Tracy, a 24-year department veteran. “We’ve done a lot to help women and minorities. . . . For a variety of reasons, they haven’t been as successful as I had hoped. But that’s not because we treat women differently. It’s not because there’s a ‘good ol’ boy network.’ ”

One of the department’s harshest critics is former officer Kim Stewart. In 1996 Stewart settled a lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court that claimed she was harassed and discriminated against because she is a woman and a lesbian. Stewart resigned from the department in March 1998 after what she describes as a campaign to get her fired.

Stewart’s attorney, Dan Palay, said he plans to file another lawsuit, this one in federal court, alleging Stewart was harassed and forced to resign in retaliation for filing the original lawsuit.

While Tracy was not directly involved in Stewart’s troubles with the department, she believes Tracy is not the kind of leader who would change discrimination practices.

“I don’t just think there is a good ol’ boy network at the department,” Stewart said. “Tracy is that network. And in general, they don’t want women there, they don’t want Hispanics, and they take care of their own.”

Others, including former records clerk Sybil Bridges and current clerk Sheila Guy, say they agree with Stewart’s assessment. Bridges and Guy, also represented by Palay, are preparing to file a suit of their own alleging discrimination because they are Latino, the two women said.

Bridges said her hours were abruptly changed to times that conflicted with day-care arrangements, making it impossible for her to work. Guy, once responsible for ordering high-tech equipment for the city’s Police and Fire departments, said she has been slowly stripped of duties until her only responsibility now is answering the telephone.

Bridges, who quit the department last month, said she went to Tracy and asked him to intervene.

“I went to that man and literally begged him to help me with my job,” Bridges said. “He’ll say, ‘Oh, I’ll see what I can do, let me have a talk with so and so.’ But you never hear from him again. My concern is if he couldn’t even help a poor little records clerk, how could he help the people of Ventura?”

One incident investigated by authorities that directly involved Tracy were two voice mail messages left at work for Officer Jack Richards.

In the messages, Richards said, it appears that Tracy is flirting with him, complimenting him on his appearance, particularly his physique. Richards said it was always clear to him that Tracy was joking.

“I left him jokes on his e-mail, and he just paid me back with these messages,” Richards said. “And I saved it to play back for fun at his retirement. People who are disgruntled are just using that now against Mike. If anyone had been a victim here, it would be me, and I don’t feel like a victim at all.”

Tracy’s detractors say they wonder whether a man who would leave such a message, even in jest, could be sensitive to women and minorities.

Tracy acknowledges he left the messages but said he never meant to hurt anyone.

“It was a dumb thing to do,” Tracy said. “But there was no evil intent. I wasn’t trying to be anti-gay or anti-anything. It was an innocuous statement between friends.”

Landeros said she has heard all of the accusations and acknowledged they concerned her initially.

“Quite frankly, I expected to find something here,” Landeros said. “And I haven’t. We have pursued every allegation and I haven’t found anything of substance.”

Tracy said nothing was found because most of the complaints are coming from “a group of employees I would classify as disgruntled former employees” out to hurt the department. Still, Tracy acknowledges the department should do more to help promote women and minorities.

Currently, of the 123 employees in the department, nine are women--none are above the rank of officer. Several, however, have held such specialty assignments as canine officers and detective, he said.

“Maybe when promotions come up, we need to go above and beyond putting out a notice,” Tracy said. “Maybe we go to those people specifically and say we need you to apply and what can we do to help you get ready for it?”

Despite some detractors, Tracy does appear to have enough support to ascend to the top position. Many officers say they want an insider to take the job because he would be familiar with the city’s needs.

And only an insider, they say, would fully recognize the department’s strengths while shoring up its weaknesses.

“As far as leadership goes, he is well-respected within this department,” Richards said. “I think he’s the guy for the job.”