Controversial Firing Of Police Chief Upheld Drug Unit’s Actions Key In Decision By Mayor, Who Subsequently Lost Re-Election By 11 Votes To Supporter Of Chief

The firing of this town’s former police chief has been reaffirmed by a civil service panel, resolving a controversy that has divided the community and dominated its politics for months.

Al Lee, the fired chief and one of the town’s most influential figures for years, had asked the commission to review his firing.

Former Mayor Lynol Amero locked Lee out of his office in August and fired him in December after independent reviews found a drug enforcement unit operating like a vigilante squad while other serious matters were ignored.

Lee’s ineffective leadership led to numerous claims against the city and put it at serious financial risk, the city’s Civil Service Commission ruled Wednesday.

Going up against the popular chief likely cost Amero re-election. He lost the mayor’s job last fall - by 11 votes - to Lee supporter Debra Jorgensen.

Amero applauded the commission ruling upholding his decision, but said it would take time for divisions in the town to heal.

“It’s going to take a long time for people … to understand they were deceived by this man,” he said Wednesday. “They put a lot of trust in him.”

Jorgensen said she respects and supports the commission finding, though she felt “really bad for Al.”

“I think it was really tough on the commission, too, because they knew him, too,” the mayor said.

Lee said Wednesday it was too early to say what his next move might be.

“I’m in shock,” he said. “My attorney’s in shock.”

His attorney, Robert Kuvara of Kent, did not return a call Friday seeking to determine whether Lee planned further appeals. There was no home listing for Lee in Pacific.

The commission’s 25-page report rejecting Lee’s appeal - issued after 10 days of hearings and testimony from dozens of witnesses - sometimes reads like a letter to the beleaguered community.

The three-member panel said Lee “is personable, open, active in community activities and highly regarded by many in the community. He has … unquestioned talent for community and public relations.

“But this commission does not base its decision on popularity. Lee spent an inordinate amount of his time keeping the exterior of the department attractive while neglecting its interior.”

Reports went unfiled and cases were not prepared for prosecution, leading to numerous claims against the city, the commission found.

The case began with a lack of cooperation. Amero wanted Lee in uniform, occasionally helping the city’s seven officers on patrol. Lee preferred suits and an administrative role.

As problems began to surface, their conflict deepened.

Lee’s own actions brought the long-simmering issues to light. He hired a consultant to evaluate a sergeant he wanted to discipline.

But the consultant found serious problems with the city’s drug squad and forwarded those concerns to the mayor and City Council. Amero put Lee on paid leave in August and hired additional consultants for a thorough departmental review, which found officers essentially doing whatever they liked without regard for policy.

Some members of the drug squad led by reserve officer Steve Bennest were volunteers with little training, the commission found. In some cases, raids were conducted outside city limits not to solve crimes but to seize property - seizures that prompted claims and lawsuits against the city.

Lee, the panel found, “did little or nothing about the problems.”