In the Auburn, WA area, the News Tribune had a recent article by Eijiro Kawada regarding the ouster of the Police Chief of a local municipality. It seems that everybody complained about something that the Chief did that they didn't like, but you will be amazed at how many issues that were taken with the FORMER Chief dealt with property and evidence issues!

It was alleged that the Chief gave favorable treatment to his fellow church members, mismanaged police evidence and compromised his officers' safety, according to the findings of an investigation into his conduct. The findings said the three year chief also performed poorly in various areas of running the department, such as filing reports mandated by the state and maintaining employee morale.

''Not a single officer supports the Chief's supervisory style," according to the report written by a private lawyer who headed the investigation. Later, she concluded: "If he returns to his position as police chief, a significant number of the officers will leave rather than face the possibility he will retaliate against them."

The Mayor fired the Police Chief as a result of the investigation, in which multiple agencies were involved. 

The Chief's lawyer called the findings "bogus". "The worst thing about this is that the Chief had no knowledge of any of these complaints," he said. He said it was only after the Chief was put on leave that he learned of the officers' complaints and concerns. The Chief's lawyer said the Chief has filed an appeal to the city's Civil Service Commission to get his job back. At a hearing yet to be scheduled, he will be represented by his union.

The investigation involved interviews with 33 witnesses regarding allegations against the Chief, including all II officers on the police force. The Mayor said the city would send the report to County prosecutors, who will decide whether any criminal charges should be filed.

Among the areas where the investigating attorney found the ex-chief to be at fault: 

• Favoritism: The investigation concluded the Chief showed "significant partiality to members" of his church on at least three occasions. On one occasion involving a young member of the church, the Chief made the city prosecutor impose 20 hours of community service on the young man instead of a fine of about $300 for a speeding ticket he had received. The city's lawyer emphasized that the city does not have community service because of liability concerns, according to the report, but the chief persisted and eventually said, "Just do it". Later, when the offender failed to submit proof of his service, the Chief told the city's court clerk that he "really put the youth through the ringer". His community service project: detailing the chief's patrol car. The Chief told the investigator that he would do the same thing if any police officer told him "a good kid needed help".

• Handling of evidence: The Chief kept evidence in his personal locker in the evidence room without proper paperwork, the report said. The items found in his locker included "miscellaneous drug paraphernalia, two guns with clips, a bag of white power identified as methamphetamine," among others. 

A police officer, who was brought in to make an inventory of items in the Chief's office, found two guns in one of his desk drawers, and three more in a box under his desk.

The Chief allowed children to handle an assault rifle that was brought in to the department by the family of a suicide victim. He acknowledged that he, his own children and 'another group' fired the rounds into gallon milk jugs filled with water, the report said.

The Chief also improperly kept several firearms at his home, including some old rifles that he showed to his Boy Scout troop, the investigator found. The Chief's explanations didn't satisfy the investigator when he said, among other things, that he was "too busy to take care of (evidence)".

The Chief also broke department policy within the past year by entering an evidence room alone, according to the city's evidence officer. The Chief responded that as chief, he was allowed unfettered access to the room, according to the report. Also, one of the city's evidence rooms didn't have an alarm for a period of time because the Chief failed to renew the contract, the investigation found.

• Officer safety: Officers told the investigator that the Chief preferred that his officers didn't wear external protective gear because the former chief was concerned that citizens might view them as "storm troopers" or "the FBI". "I find that the chief held the perceptions of the community in higher regard than officer safety," the investigator wrote in her findings.

The new mayor replaced Williams quickly, saying that officers came to her with complaints within 24 hours. "I had no due" of such concerns before then, the new mayor said. The Chief's attorney, who also was a fellow church member, could not be reached for comment Friday.