By Tom Jackman
In the small town of Haymarket
in western Prince William County, half of the police force have just had their
badges, guns and cars taken away by the town council. Chief James E. Roop and
Deputy Chief Gregory Breeden were both suspended for 60 days without pay, Roop
for “loss of confidence and inappropriate actions,” during a cryptic council
meeting Monday night. This follows both men’s 15-day suspensions for alleged
sexual harassment in 2005. A third member of the six-person force, Officer Jake
Davis, also was suspended without pay for 60 days.
In addition, the Virginia State
Police confirmed Wednesday that they are investigating an allegation made
against Roop. Roop and Breeden did not return phone and e-mail messages seeking
comment. Davis declined to comment.
So what exactly did the three
officers do to merit two-month suspensions? No one would say, citing the
confidentiality of personnel matters. But Roop was ordered to undergo 24 hours
of professional counseling to include the topics of sexual harassment,
sensitivity training and ethics in the work place. Davis received the same
order. Breeden’s order did not include sexual harassment. All three were
instructed to turn in their badges, guns and equipment by Friday.
The council appointed Town Manager
Brian Henshaw, who just took the job last May, as administrator of the
six-officer police department, though he said he has no police experience.
Officer Jeff Shaver was appointed to run the remaining Haymarket Police
Department in the absence of its two top administrators. The council also
prohibited Roop from hiring, firing or disciplining any police employee until
June 30.
town officials said, so
suspending him should save the town of 1,900 residents about $12,600. Breeden,
55, joined Haymarket in 2000 and earns $59,400, meaning his time off will save
Haymarket about $9,500. Davis, whose age was not available, joined Haymarket in
December 2012 and earns $38,000, so his suspension could keep about $6,000 in
Haymarket coffers. But if the police have to start paying overtime to make up
for the missed officers, that could all be back out the window.
Haymarket Deputy Police Chief
Gregory A. Breeden, suspended along with his police chief for 60 days without
pay this week. Was previously suspended for 15 days, also with Chief James E.
Roop. (Town of Haymarket)
Haymarket Mayor David Leake
said in an e-mail that “these are serious allegations against the chief and
unfortunately I’m not at liberty to discuss them.” He also said he was
“extremely disappointed and concerned with the minimal consequences the Council
imposed on the chief considering the seriousness of the allegations made
against him,” though the two council members who investigated the situation
seemed to seek to terminate all three officers. The motion failed 4-2 (the
mayor only votes in case of a tie), everyone looked at each other in confusion,
they went back into closed session and emerged later with the 60-day terms. All
six council members declined to comment. Town attorney Martin Crim did not
return a call seeking comment.
In June 2005, Roop and Breeden
were suspended for 15 days and no one would say why then, either. But in
September of that year, the 10-page memo written by the lawyer who investigated
Roop and Breeden was leaked to Ian Shapira of The Post. It said the two men
were making “sex-related comments” on a “pervasive basis” and exposed the town
to possible lawsuits. The lawyer, Jennifer Parrish of Fredericksburg,
recommended that Roop and Breeden be fired. Instead, the town council gave them
15 days off without pay.
Also in September 2005,
Breeden’s wife obtained a temporary restraining order against him because he
smashed down a garage door with a hammer. Breeden was acting chief at the time
while Roop was on a leave of absence, but he had to forfeit his gun and forego
patrol duties while under the restraining order, which was not made permanent.
In March 2006, the town prosecutor resigned because she “cannot be certain that
the facts are accurate” when provided by Roop, her (leaked) resignation letter
stated.
The latest dustup erupted into
public view in mid-December, when the council appointed Vice Mayor Jay Tobias
and council member Steve Aitken to investigate “certain alleged personnel
matters.” Leake, as mayor, tried to veto this, saying that “the town attorney
advised that an outside investigation was necessary and should be initiated
immediately.” But the council overrode Leake’s veto and Tobias and Aitken
proceeded. In late December, a letter from “Residents For a Better Haymarket”
was sent to the council, and later to me, alleging misdeeds by both the chief
and the council in a symbiotic “good ol’ boys” relationship.
On Monday night, the meeting
video shows that Tobias and Aitken made a motion to suspend the three officers
until Feb. 3, while directing the town attorney “to proceed as discussed in
closed session with regard to employment issues,” which sounds like a move to
fire them. But council members Milt Kenworthy, Rebecca Bare, Mary Lou
Scarbrough and Katherine Harnest voted no. Harnest appeared to be upset, wiping
her face with her hands.
The badge of the Town of
Haymarket Police Department. Only a select few may wear this badge, because
half of the department has been suspended. (Town of Haymarket)
So they went back behind closed
doors, emerged later Monday night and voted on 60-day suspensions with
mandatory counseling. Aitken said in the meeting, “I still don’t believe we’re
tackling the root cause here, but that’s just my opinion.” Tobias agreed,
saying, “This is not solving the problem.” Leake said he also agreed.
Breeden and Davis were only
suspended for “loss of confidence,” presumably not their own but the council’s.
Leake said he was disappointed that the council saw fit to impose the same
penalty on them as on the chief. Instead of using an outside investigator, as
in 2005, the council “proceeded with their own internal questioning, resulting
in the consequences they wanted to impose. To handle this correctly it needs to
be taken out of the council’s hands. We need to eliminate the input of personal
relationships and any future risk to our town, and to have an official outside
independent investigation.”
That may be where the state
police come in. Corinne Geller, the state police spokeswoman, said the state
police are investigating an allegation against Roop. She would say no more. For
now.
Tom Jackman is a reporter for
The Washington Post who has covered Northern Virginia since 1998.