City Response To Pending Lawsuit Announces More Police Training

MOUNTAIN VIEW - City Manager Dan Rich has published an open letter to residents of Mountain View on the City's website, expressing what steps are being taken in response to a pending lawsuit brought by an employee.

In the open letter, Rich says an independent investigator determined the claims made by the employee were not supported by facts, but the employee chose to move ahead with a lawsuit.

Yet during the investigation, Rich says the City learned of "past behavior by some police department employees that was inconsistent with the standards we expect from our employees."

The city manager goes on to note that additional training for all Police staff is now being implemented.

We're including a copy of the letter here for you to read.

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March 8, 2016

Dear Mountain View Community:

I wanted to share with you some information that you will probably read about in the coming days. We are not able to discuss details because this matter is the subject of litigation, but we wanted to be open about what we can share with you. Recently, while investigating claims made by an employee, the City of Mountain View learned of past behavior by some police department employees that was inconsistent with the standards we expect from our employees.

The investigation into the employee’s claims, which was done by an independent investigator, determined that the claims made by the employee were not supported by the facts. Nonetheless, the employee has recently filed a lawsuit against the City.

All departments within the City, and certainly the Police Department, hold integrity and respect as core organizational values, and there is no place for inappropriate or unprofessional behavior. This is true regardless of whether the behavior occurred after hours or it was voluntary in nature.

After investigating the conduct in question, the City took action to make clear that we do not condone and will not tolerate inappropriate conduct in the workplace or in settings associated with work-related events. We go beyond state law to ensure that every one of our employees receives training on preventing harassment, and understands the responsibility to treat every employee with respect and to act professionally at all times.

Given what has occurred, we are in the process of implementing additional training for all Police staff on these standards to ensure there is no uncertainty over what is expected of our Police Department employees and managers in confronting and correcting inappropriate conduct.

The City of Mountain View is committed to providing exceptional service, with integrity and respect for all. As this matter is subject to pending litigation, and because it involves personnel matters protected by privacy laws, unfortunately we cannot comment on the lawsuit in any greater detail at this time. It is important to respect the process, and while I understand this can be frustrating, we appreciate your patience.

Dan Rich

City Manager