West Richland police union calls for firing chief after claims of retaliation, bullying

West Richland police officers have accused their chief of a pattern of abuse and retaliation aimed at officers who disagreed with him.

The West Richland Police Officers Association voted 18-1 that they have no confidence in Chief Thomas Grego’s ability to lead the department.

“(The) WRPOA is unified that the relationship with Chief Grego is broken and cannot be repaired,” union President Jared Paulsen wrote in a memo to the Mayor Brent Gerry and the city council. “The WRPOA calls on Mayor Gerry and the city council to terminate Chief Grego’s employment.”

The memo was provided to the Tri-City Herald by an anonymous source, and confirmed by Paulsen.

While the vote doesn’t carry any legal weight, it is an unusual step for officers to take. Most recently, officers in Prosser voted no confidence in former chief Jay King in January.

The Feb. 22 vote of no confidence is the second one brought by the officers. It followed a city-sponsored department “climate survey” by a Mukilteo consulting company.

Union members believe the survey was an effort to cover up Grego’s misconduct, and put the blame on the officers.

Now union members are waiting for a response from the city’s mayor and council about the latest declaration and the troubled relationship.

Grego stepped into the chief’s position in May 2022 after more than 20 years at the department and five years as the department’s captain under former chief Ben Majetich.

West Richland has 19 officers, not including two commanders and the chief.

The annual salary range for the position is listed as $156,000 to $204,000, according to budget documents.

The police department enforces the law in the roughly 23-square-mile city with a population of about 17,000 people.

Retaliation

Paulsen’s memo included statements from a sergeant as well as two other former officers with the department.

Sergeant Athena Clark, a 23-year police veteran, had been a commander in the department for a year before stepping down.

“I made this decision after being personally retaliated against and witnessing Chief Grego’s unethical, dishonest, tyrannical, bullying, retaliatory abusive behaviors that created a very hostile work environment,” she wrote in her statement.

It’s not clear when the relationship between Clark and Grego started to deteriorate. Clark provided five examples of the chief’s behavior that she found problematic.

This included him repeatedly trying to pressure her into drinking alcohol during a spring Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs training. When she refused, he allegedly insulted and shamed her in front of her husband and other commanders.

During a fall training, she claimed Grego became so drunk that he was kicked out of multiple drinking establishments.

“When I confronted him about his behavior not being a good representation of the City of West Richland, he lied stating he was not drunk,” Clark wrote.

When she brought her concerns to the city’s human resources department, Grego felt she “betrayed him” and he could no longer trust her. She alleged that he had also told other officers to not talk to human resources if they had any concerns.

Even after stepping down, Clark said she was told that Grego had her “under a microscope.” She said he, along with the commanders, set her up to get in trouble.

Paulsen said Grego has recently opened an internal investigation against Clark about a mistake resulting in a time card error. He said normally that would be handled with a phone call or an in-person discussion.

The two other statements came from former West Richland officers, Sgt. Ryan Boyce and Lt. Duane Olsen.

Boyce said he became a target after their friendship turned sour prior to Grego becoming chief.

“(When) Tom faced marital difficulties, he unjustly blamed my wife, and when we didn’t take ‘his side,’ he abruptly turned against me, subjecting me to various forms of discipline,” Boyce wrote.

He disciplined Boyce for not closing a report, not wearing a COVID mask fully and failing to issue “mandatory” firework tickets. Boyce said he was held to a different standard than other officers.

“Throughout my tenure at the department, I witnessed Tom’s tendency to swiftly transition from friendship to hostility, not only with colleagues, but also with citizens and business owners in the city,” Boyce wrote.

Olsen complained about an internal investigation that needed to go to arbitration before it was resolved. He also noted that he was promoted to lieutenant in 2021 and then demoted with 2 days of notice.

Investigation

Clark first brought her concerns to the mayor in late 2023, she said in her statement. At that point, Gerry said he wasn’t aware of any problems.

“He was shocked to learn about Chief Grego’s directive that we do not speak to HR,” Clark said. “He inquired as to why a vote of no confidence had not been filed. I illustrated the department’s fear of retaliation from Chief Grego ... with the instilled belief that the city supports them vs. the officers.”

A vote of no confidence in mid-November followed that meeting. That vote was 11 in favor, six opposed and two abstentions, according to a memo from Paulsen. In that vote, the union asked for a neutral third-party to be brought in to investigate the accusations.

After the vote was presented to the mayor, he promised to have a neutral third party investigate. Just days later, Janice Corbin from Sound Employment Solutions was brought in to meet with officers.

Sound Employment Solutions is a Mukilteo-based human resources consultant business that works with public and private sector business.

Corbin conducted interviews in January and February resulting in a meeting in Feb. 22 to discuss her findings.

Paulsen called that investigation a sham.

“The WRPOA believes Janice’s climate survey was an effort to cover up the misconduct of Chief Grego. Janice demonstrated that she did not do any investigation at all,” Paulsen said in the memo.

He said Corbin didn’t address any of the union’s concern, didn’t interview key people involved, including Clark and used misinformation provided by Grego.

After hearing the findings, union members met and had a second vote. This one resulted in an 18-1 vote of no confidence.

“The concerning issue with this process is that it appears that Mayor Gerry did not follow through with providing the promised ‘neutral third party the union requested,’” Paulsen wrote.