Report details allegations against terminated fire chief in Jackson County

Two weeks ago, the board of Jackson County Fire District 5 in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon fired its chief, Charles Hanley. An investigation provides more details about why he was terminated.

Hanley was fired because an independent investigator found that three allegations against him were sustained. They involved covering up sexual harassment, bullying and interfering with a governmental promotion board.

Now, a redacted version of the report, which was provided to JPR in a public records request, gives more detail about these allegations.

According to the report by Pacific Consulting and Investigations, Hanley failed to address workplace harassment. It says Hanley himself said sexual harassment in the district was “rampant”, but the report also found that Hanley stopped an investigation into misconduct, which included lewd gestures, foul language and sexual innuendos.

“It is unknown why Chief Hanley stopped the investigation, which prevented him from properly imposing the appropriate discipline on [redacted] when a complete investigation would have possibly prevented more misconduct by [redacted] with more serious discipline. This allowed [redacted] misconduct to continue, as was discovered with the more recent similar allegations,” the report reads.

“He could have addressed the rampant conduct with added training and or addressed the district through a memorandum with his stance on not allowing such conduct, but he did not,” it continues.

The report also found that Hanley harassed an employee earlier this year by using curse words and yelling aggressively.

“Chief Hanley’s actions were intimidating and offensive and created a hostile environment,” the report reads.

Finally, the report says Hanley altered promotional scores for an employee trying to earn the role of battalion chief, which “unfairly disqualified a candidate.”

Hanley provided a statement through his attorney, which says that he “is disappointed by the board’s decision to terminate his employment and disagrees with the findings reached in the district’s so-called ‘investigation’ into allegations against him. JCFD-5 did not provide sufficient process for Mr. Hanley to meaningfully address the allegations, including by failing to allow him reasonable opportunity to present documentary or witness statement evidence in his defense.”

“Mr. Hanley intends to contest the district’s termination action in order to clear his name and repair the damage that the fire district’s recent actions have caused to his reputation,” the statement continues. “He will pursue all appropriate avenues including litigation in court, if necessary.”

Related: Management problems cause staff exodus from Rogue Valley fire district, records show

Board Chair Greg Costanzo said Hanley was fired based on the findings of this report.

“I was just surprised that it took this long to actually have the truth to come out that came out, and then it made me angry, and then it also made me realize that it’s unacceptable to conduct this type of behavior and cover up in a position of authority,” he said.

Costanzo said there are five more allegations against Hanley still to be investigated.

“The board made a determination that those three were egregious enough that we were not going to wait for all eight to come in before we made an action,” he said.

Separate tort claim letter threatens lawsuit

In addition, the fire district recently received a letter from the attorney for Vicki Purslow, the former board chair. Purslow abruptly resigned from the board in March, along with two other board members. The letter claims Purslow has been slandered and defamed, threatens a lawsuit and seeks at least $2 million in damages. The Aug. 12 letter is addressed to the district, Costanzo, IAFF Local 2596 President Brady Graham and board member Derek Volkart.

The resignations came after the union asked the board to take action to address complaints about inappropriate conduct in the department. The union said the behavior had been going on for years and had created “a toxic culture of bullying and harassment.” After the resignations, Jackson County Commissioners appointed three new members to the board.

In a statement regarding the letter, Purslow said, “I’m very concerned about what’s been done and said about me, both in the media and social media, and I sincerely believe there’s an ulterior motive related to my civil rights, and I feel that those have been violated.” Purslow was the only female on the board and is a lesbian.

The letter calls out Volkart in particular for requesting an investigation into Purslow, saying his conduct is “based on lack of evidence, subterfuge and an attempt to merely attack our client in the public.”

In a statement, Volkart said, “An inquiry is a close examination of a matter and one can only speculate as to how the Purslow conduct inquiry itself, awaiting completion of ongoing investigations, could be considered defamatory prior to being conducted.”

The letter demands that the district stop all defamatory allegations and any claims that insult Purslow’s reputation.

“The former Chair’s correspondence fails to identify any specific conduct attributable to IAFF Local 2596 that would support legal claims,” Graham, the union president, said in a statement. “The former Chair’s threat of legal action and demand for retraction appears to be an effort to silence IAFF Local 2596 and its members from engaging in activities protected by law, including protected union activities, exercising First Amendment rights to free speech, and filing complaints regarding the conduct of public officials.”

The board has not responded to the letter, according to Costanzo.