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Detective Not Pressed To Quit, Mangan Says ‘Princess Of The Gypsies’ Flier Unrelated To Retirement, Chief Says

By Kevin Blocker kevinb@spokesman.com

Spokane Police Chief Terry Mangan said Saturday there was no pressure put on a detective to resign because of a controversial flier she posted at work declaring herself “princess of the Gypsies.”

Cheryl A. Graves, a respected 27-year-veteran of the police force, officially retired on Friday. Her retirement comes two weeks after news of the posted flier became public.

The mock certificate, which Graves previously admitted to drafting, declares that she, “Has all the rights and privileges of a princess of the Gypsies. To partake in congames (sic) and swindles. To travel anywhere she pleases/and to take as many men as she wants.”

Graves, who Mangan said is married, could not be reached for comment.

Jimmy Marks, the spokesman of a local Gypsy family, has called the flier racist. Attorneys for the Marks family subpoenaed Graves’ flier.

The city is currently embroiled in a $40 million civil rights lawsuit with the Marks family. The suit stems from a series of police raids on homes owned by the Marks family in 1985.

The raids - part of a stolen property investigation - were later ruled illegal by a federal judge.

Mangan said the contents of the flier were inappropriate.

“I think it showed poor judgement,” Mangan said. “But Cheryl Graves is a fine conscientious person who has represented the community well, and I know she is not a racist.

“I don’t believe there were any spiteful intentions on her part at all,” he said.

Mangan said Graves had planned to retire this year. He said he wasn’t sure if the controversy surrounding the certificate had anything to do with her retirement.

Mangan said the matter had been under review by Graves’ immediate supervisors and not the department’s Internal Affairs Division. However, that review was dropped when she retired.

“If you look at her stellar career and match it up against one lapse in judgement, well, I think her record as a member of this force speaks for itself,” he said.

, DataTimes