Two more lawsuits claim retaliation by Chief Granato

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The city of Yakima faces two more lawsuits alleging that police Chief Sam Granato retaliated against officers under his command.

An attorney for Officer Stacey Andrews and Capt. Rod Light filed the cases late this morning in Yakima County Superior Court.

Meanwhile, an attorney for fired Officer Jeff Brownfield said he planned to file an appeal this week over a federal judge's recent dismissal of Brownfield's case, which also alleged retaliation by Granato.

The Light and Andrews lawsuits, filed by Yakima lawyer Bill Pickett, allege that Granato separately retaliated against the two. Besides Granato, the city of Yakima and City Manager Dick Zais are named as defendants.

Assistant city attorney Helen Harvey said the city would fight the lawsuits, but she withheld further comment because the city had not been served with the complaints yet. Granato also declined to comment.

Andrews had filed a legal claim against the city in February that alleged she was the victim of sexual harassment by Granato.

An investigator retained for the city found that Granato's relationship with Andrews did not cross the line into sexual harassment, but she indicated that Granato should be more careful about his relationships with subordinates.

Granato has said he never meant to do anything inappropriate.

Pickett last month suggested the city was going easy on the chief, noting that the investigator found Granato had engaged in "unwelcome" conduct toward Andrews because of her gender.

He had indicated he would sue over retaliation when Granato's Seattle attorney threatened to countersue Granato for slander because of Andrews' complaint against the chief.

The lawsuit specifically mentions both the "unwelcome" conduct and the threatened slander lawsuit as grounds for the litigation.

Light had filed a claim against the city in December alleging that he was the victim of retaliation after reporting misconduct.

The lawsuit alleges Light was involved in handling civilian employee Crystal Dodge's complaints that an officer was mistreating her.

Dodge said that the officer, Ben Hittle, had mocked her speech impediment.

Light's lawsuit does not elaborate on his retaliation claim, and Pickett would not address those facts, citing the active litigation.

Hittle, who has since retired, was widely seen as a close friend of Granato. Since being hired here in 2003, Granato has faced a series of allegations that he befriends some officers while targeting others.

He has repeatedly denied any retaliation.

The lawsuits by Andrews and Light are among nine legal claims or lawsuits filed against Granato and the city in the last two years.

The Dodge complaint was settled for $200,000. Another lawsuit was dismissed following the death of fired Officer Mike Rummel.

Granato won several court and labor rulings in the Rummel case, which the police union has challenged in the state Court of Appeals.

Brownfield's case alleged that he was eventually fired after reporting concerns about accounting procedures at the Yakima Police Athletic League. The city contends that he engaged in insubordinate conduct toward supervisors, including disobeying an order to stay in a meeting, after suffering a head injury in an off-duty traffic crash.

Judge Robert Whaley ruled in U.S. District Court that city officials had presented sufficient proof of medical and conduct issues to support their decision that Brownfield was unfit for duty. He found no evidence that Granato or Zais retaliated because Brownfield spoke out.

Brownfield's attorney, Lish Whitson of Seattle, said he feels the judge's opinion merits reconsideration by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. He said he expected to file that notice this week, but he did not elaborate on the points he would raise.

The other matters are pending.

* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.