P.O. Box 599 • Arroyo Grande, CA. 93421

September 17, 2014 To the Arroyo Grande City Council, This letter is being sent on behalf of the Arroyo Grande Police Officers’ Association, to address several concerns regarding the on-going situation involving City Manager Steve Adams. Shortly after the incident involving City Manager Steve Adams at city hall on July 3, 2014, our association took a vote for the purpose of determining whether the situation should immediately be brought to the public's attention. Although we recognized the situation involved a matter of significant public concern and had been discussed much in the press, we knew discretion was also needed. Ultimately, the decision was made to remain silent and wait, for the expressed purpose of allowing our city council the opportunity to conduct an appropriate investigation, as they would any other employee. After this incident came to the public's attention on August 19, 2014, we again voted to remain silent and wait, while the city council conducted what we thought was going to be an appropriate investigation. This was over six weeks after the original incident. As the “investigation” was conducted, several issues and concerns were raised immediately. The “investigation” consisted of very short telephonic interviews with our members. The collective consensus of the officers involved has generated a concern that the questions may have been asked or interpreted in a way, which made the officers feel as if it was a hostile interrogation instead of a fact finding process. During the telephonic interviews, the questions were asked in an attacking manner that made the officers feel as though they had done something wrong. The questions themselves appeared to come across as being uniquely focused, leading many to believe there was possibly a one-sided result being sought. In fact, the focus on the investigation seemed to imply that the officers were at City Hall for some improper reason. Most significantly, the interviews were not recorded and were conducted by an “attorney”. This presents two issues: one, no record was made of what was said since it was not recorded, and two, having an attorney conduct the investigation gives the City the ability to claim attorney client privilege and withhold the results of the “investigation” from the public. This “investigation” was so far from how normal investigations occur, it leads the Association to believe that this matter is intended to be covered up. Real investigations and interviews do not occur over the phone and they must be recorded. How else would you expect to reply on what the witnesses said if you have no record of what they said?

P.O. Box 599 • Arroyo Grande, CA. 93421

Despite our mounting concerns, we continued to maintain our silence for the specific purpose of

allowing our city council every opportunity to properly investigate this incident. Finally, when the “investigation” was concluded and with the issue now public, several members of our association attended the city council meetings to discover the results and subsequent reaction of the public. At no time, did any member of our association speak at public comment. It was still our sincere belief the city council would take the public’s concerns seriously, and conduct a real and independent investigation.

During this time, we did not appreciate the exposure our members faced for having to come

forward to attend the council meetings, as many feel there will be consequences. Despite all of our frustration, we remained professional and gave the city council every opportunity to handle this properly. Our belief in our city management to do the right thing, and our belief in our city council to do the right thing, was severely misplaced. When it appeared there were inconsistencies between city staff's version of events compared to our officers reports, the city council had the ability to conduct a further formal investigation including options per California Government Code section 54957, which they did not utilize. For the first closed session, and again for the second closed session on September 9, 2014, none of the involved officers were asked to provide input or answer questions. Additionally, there have also been insinuations that our association's contract negotiation process is to blame for this incident occurring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Negotiations had been ongoing for months prior to the incident caused by the city manager, not the responding officers. The association does not control when negotiations are started, the position of the city regarding their half of the process, the city electing to continue with negotiations during the situation, nor do we control the actions of the city manager. Any attempts to blame our involved police officers or our association, is irresponsible and offensive. In any event, the contract negotiations are now complete and the Association and the City have agreed upon a contract. Due to the city's effort to try and explain away the actions of two members of their management staff, which was done very publicly, the involved professional police officers have had their integrity called into question on numerous occasions by Adams and the Council. This could affect their credibility, as well as the Arroyo Grande Police Department’s credibility, while serving in their capacities as peace officers. As it is, the officers already felt extremely uncomfortable at the scene of the city hall incident when they clearly saw Adams, their boss, engaging in inappropriate activity with a subordinate. They responded to a situation involving the city manager, who is the highest authority in the city. In addition to controlling all hiring and firing decisions for the entire city, the city manager also controls the

P.O. Box 599 • Arroyo Grande, CA. 93421

appeal processes for disciplined and aggrieved employees. And for simply doing their job, as they are required to do, they have been branded as either incompetent or liars.

There have been several distinct opportunities for the city council and city staff to handle this situation responsibly, with fairness and transparency. They were called upon by members of the public, their constituents, to have an independent and unbiased investigation into the incident, but chose not to. By failing to do so it has created distrust with our government officials, called our integrity into question, and had a significant impact on morale. With all of this in mind, the Arroyo Grande Police Officers’ Association has met and carefully considered the situation and subsequent failings by the city council and city staff. The resulting votes were unanimous.

The members of the Arroyo Grande Police Officers’ Association have a voted that they have No Confidence in City Manager Steve Adams. Mr. Adams has a professional, ethical, and moral responsibility to hold himself accountable in the same way he has held other city employees accountable. Not withstanding his personal beliefs about his conduct, he should have immediately hired an outside investigator to look into this matter. If he was as innocent as he claimed, a neutral investigator would have found that. He failed in this responsibility. We can no longer trust that he serves the best interests of our citizens and our city employees. Mr. Adams did not lead by example and he did not treat his situation the same as he has treated other investigations in the past.

Additionally, the members of the Arroyo Grande Police Officers’ Association have voted that they have No Confidence in Mayor Tony Ferrara . As a former experienced peace officer familiar with investigative techniques and internal affairs procedures, and as the long time elected head of our City Council, we feel Ferrara should have ensured this situation was being dealt with in a more appropriate manner. He either knows or should know that this “investigation” was a sham and was not conducted according to proper law enforcement procedures and guidelines. As the elected representative of our city, Ferrara should have exercised better judgment and we can no longer trust him to serve the best interests of our citizens and our city employees.

This letter shall also serve as a Formal Complaint regarding the investigation done thus far, and

for the need for a truly independent investigation by an entity with no ties whatsoever to our city, any member of city staff, or any other connection in any way to this situation. It would be appropriate to select an entity with extensive investigative experience into similar personnel matters.

P.O. Box 599 • Arroyo Grande, CA. 93421

As part of this complaint we are immediately requesting that all city hard drives, computers, data storage devices, duplicate copies, or any other devices containing potential video or audio footage of the incident in question, within 24 hours before, during, and after the service call at the Arroyo Grande city hall on July 3, 2014, be immediately preserved. The same immediate preservation is requested for any time period after the incident at city hall, where one or more persons were involved with the collection or removal of any video or audio data storage involving this incident, to include the chain of custody afterwards, and continuing and moving forward. The same immediate preservation is requested for all city servers, off-site storage capabilities, computers, equipment, or other devices, which may contain email, messaging, or other correspondence for any city staff member, city council member, or potentially involved party.

As with any other written complaint, for example as if it were made by any citizen of our community, the city has an inflexible obligation to thoroughly investigate this complaint. The city also has a requirement to investigate this responsibly, in a timely manner, with audio recordings of all involved parties, and subject to all provisions as if it were made by any member of the public. The integrity of our entire city and its police department has been called into question. Our citizens deserve transparency. Public trust has to be restored by safeguarding public confidence, restoring the integrity of government, and avoiding any appearances of impropriety. Submitted respectfully, The Arroyo Grande Police Officers’ Association