Troubling times in Mabton

MABTON -- Robert Perales may be gone, but Mabton is still struggling in the wake of his departure.

Mabton police have no chain of command and Mabton schools are without a security officer.

The city is at a "huge liability" of lawsuits or higher insurance costs, said Anthony Russell, who after three years with the police department is the most senior of its three remaining officers. State law requires all cities to have some sort of commander, if not a chief.

The loose ends are just the latest round of trouble surrounding the city and Perales, who had been serving as both the city's part-time chief and school security officer.

Last month, Perales left Mabton to resume serving as Granger police chief. He had been fired from that post in May 2008 for alleged improper conduct, but an arbitrator ordered Granger to give him his job back.

But even before Granger fired him, Perales had also been serving as a part-time chief for Mabton, where his tenure was rocky. Almost weekly, City Council members and residents sparred with Mayor Velva Herrera about Perales' job and hours.

In late December, the City Council eliminated the chief's position. It also ordered Herrera to appoint an administrator to handle department business and name one of the remaining officers to a sergeant-like position. It's required by state law.

She has done neither, arguing she simply hasn't had time.

"I don't know yet and I don't have a timeline on it," Herrera said in a phone interview.

She blamed her involvement with a routine state audit of the city, plus general business. The part-time mayor's post earns her $500 per month. She also works as a graveyard-shift caregiver and shares a home with extended family members.

When residents, police officers and council members questioned her about the delays at a recent council meeting, she grew terse and refused to answer, according to Russell and Councilman Mario Martinez.

Russell said that at one point during the meeting, she scolded Officer T.J. Orth and asked him, "Who invited you to this meeting?"

Herrera didn't deny making the comment, but declined to answer questions about it later, saying it was wrong to discuss personnel issues in public.

Meanwhile, Herrera has sent Officer Carl Ramirez to the Criminal Justice Training Commission for supervisor's training.

That's irked Russell, the department's senior officer. He asked the mayor for the promotion.

But in a Jan. 22 memo to city staff, Herrera called Ramirez the "lead officer" and the "only contact person between the police department and the mayor's office."

Ramirez started in Mabton in 2006 after being terminated six months into a 12-month probation period with the Sunnyside Police Department. Sunnyside city officials say they can't disclose the reason for Ramirez's termination without first giving him a chance to block release of the information. He has until March 23.

Ramirez, who once worked with Perales in Granger, did not return numerous requests for comment.

Meanwhile, there's a security void at the Mabton schools.

For at least a dozen years, the school had contracted with the city of Mabton to provide a school resource officer -- a uniformed officer who patrols campuses during school hours. Under the contract, the officer could leave the school in an emergency to back up other officers elsewhere in town.

It's a common arrangement. Cities like it because it helps pay for an extra officer while school districts like it because they get a uniformed officer patrolling their campuses.

In July, two months after Perales lost his Granger job, Herrera bumped him up to full-time status as Mabton's police chief. Council members objected, and she moved him back to 20 hours in October.

Within a week, however, Perales began working full time as school resource officer, as well as his part-time role as chief. Council members again balked, but the arrangement continued through the rest of the year.

How he got the job is the subject of some controversy.

For about two years, longtime and popular Mabton officer Mike Britton had been the school resource officer. He took some time off during the fall for a shoulder injury. He never made it back.

As a reserve officer, Britton isn't fully commissioned by the state. While he has most of the same powers as a regular officer, he couldn't work full time.

Russell and council members contend it never was a problem until Perales wanted the job. Britton didn't return numerous calls.

Council members asked Perales to grant Britton a special limited commission allowing him to work at the schools, but the chief never did.

"There's ways to have Mike Britton back on his job if everybody was willing to do it," said Vera Zavala, a councilwoman.

Perales agrees Britton was popular and honest, but said he just wanted to follow state rules.

"You just can't do stuff for somebody ... just because you like them," he said.

When it came time for the district to renew a contract with the city, negotiations spiraled out of control, said Sandra Pasiero-Davis, superintendent.

School officials generally liked Britton's work, but feared the liability of not having a fully commissioned officer, Pasiero-Davis said. But that was only part of the problem: she blames overall mistrust between council members, the mayor and the chief.

"The lack of conversation was what was frustrating," Pasiero-Davis said. "Until they become a unified body ... then we aren't in a position to know who to negotiate with."

The district offered a contract directly to Britton, who would have worked as a private, civilian-clothed security guard, Pasiero-Davis said. He turned it down because it wouldn't cover benefits the way his old job with the city did, she said.

Britton is now working as a reserve officer in the city.

In December, after Perales lost his job as Mabton chief, he signed a similar private security contract with the school district. He held the job until he left for Granger.

Pasiero-Davis said district leaders are still deciding who to hire for security.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.