Published: Thursday, September 2, 2010
Report on Granite Falls police chief fills 5 binders
The investigation of the Granite Falls chief, which was requested by the mayor, is complete but not yet public.
GRANITE FALLS -- An investigation of the conduct of Granite Falls Police Chief Tony Domish has been completed, but it may not become public for some time.
A report detailing the review by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office was delivered to the city on Wednesday. The investigation was conducted at the request of Mayor Haroon Saleem.
The city's attorneys have advised officials not to release the report immediately, although they admit it is a public record. They want to give people named in the report time to potentially resist its disclosure.
"There are lots of parties that are identified" in the voluminous report, city attorney Thom Graafstra said.
The report is so large it took five binders to hold all the material, Saleem said Wednesday.
"It was a banker-sized box, yes," Graafstra said.
Domish has been on paid leave since April 23, when the investigation began. Lt. Rick Hawkins of the sheriff's office served as interim chief from April 23 until Tuesday, a previously agreed-upon date. The city was without a police chief Wednesday. The City Council was scheduled to vote Wednesday night on a motion to name Sgt. Dennis Taylor of the sheriff's office to serve as interim chief until Domish's status is resolved, the mayor said.
Saleem has been mum about the exact reason for the investigation of Domish, saying only at the time that it concerned "certain alleged actions and inactions" of the chief.
Several disputes occurred between Saleem and Domish after the mayor took office in January, but the two had an adversarial relationship even before Saleem was elected in November.
Domish said Saleem's restaurant and cocktail lounge, the Timberline Cafe, generated more than its share of drunken-driving incidents and fights. Saleem disputed that contention. The two men met for several hours in late December before Saleem took office and afterward said they had ironed out their differences.
The truce was short-lived.
In March, the Granite Falls Civil Service Board, a police oversight commission, said it planned to investigate allegations that Saleem had meddled in police affairs. Domish and all the police department's full-time officers signed a letter to the civil service commission asking for the investigation.
The police officers wrote that a reserve officer's identity may have been revealed while working an undercover drug investigation at the Timberline Cafe. Among the dozen other allegations made were claims that Saleem threatened to fire police officers and had otherwise undermined their law enforcement authority.
The Civil Service Board wrote Saleem on March 27 and said the board would not go through with the investigation because it was beyond the board's authority, according to Saleem.
Early in the year, the mayor said Domish was failing to report to him and instead was reporting to some members of the City Council. He told the Lake Stevens Journal he was upset with Domish for missing council meetings and not telling the mayor when he was leaving town.
Saleem also complained that Domish told reporters about a drug sweep before telling the mayor, although city documents dispute the mayor's assertions.
Shortly after the drug sweep, Saleem placed Domish on paid leave and asked the sheriff's office to conduct the investigation.
Reporter Eric Stevick contributed to this story.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
A report detailing the review by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office was delivered to the city on Wednesday. The investigation was conducted at the request of Mayor Haroon Saleem.
The city's attorneys have advised officials not to release the report immediately, although they admit it is a public record. They want to give people named in the report time to potentially resist its disclosure.
"There are lots of parties that are identified" in the voluminous report, city attorney Thom Graafstra said.
The report is so large it took five binders to hold all the material, Saleem said Wednesday.
"It was a banker-sized box, yes," Graafstra said.
Domish has been on paid leave since April 23, when the investigation began. Lt. Rick Hawkins of the sheriff's office served as interim chief from April 23 until Tuesday, a previously agreed-upon date. The city was without a police chief Wednesday. The City Council was scheduled to vote Wednesday night on a motion to name Sgt. Dennis Taylor of the sheriff's office to serve as interim chief until Domish's status is resolved, the mayor said.
Saleem has been mum about the exact reason for the investigation of Domish, saying only at the time that it concerned "certain alleged actions and inactions" of the chief.
Several disputes occurred between Saleem and Domish after the mayor took office in January, but the two had an adversarial relationship even before Saleem was elected in November.
Domish said Saleem's restaurant and cocktail lounge, the Timberline Cafe, generated more than its share of drunken-driving incidents and fights. Saleem disputed that contention. The two men met for several hours in late December before Saleem took office and afterward said they had ironed out their differences.
The truce was short-lived.
In March, the Granite Falls Civil Service Board, a police oversight commission, said it planned to investigate allegations that Saleem had meddled in police affairs. Domish and all the police department's full-time officers signed a letter to the civil service commission asking for the investigation.
The police officers wrote that a reserve officer's identity may have been revealed while working an undercover drug investigation at the Timberline Cafe. Among the dozen other allegations made were claims that Saleem threatened to fire police officers and had otherwise undermined their law enforcement authority.
The Civil Service Board wrote Saleem on March 27 and said the board would not go through with the investigation because it was beyond the board's authority, according to Saleem.
Early in the year, the mayor said Domish was failing to report to him and instead was reporting to some members of the City Council. He told the Lake Stevens Journal he was upset with Domish for missing council meetings and not telling the mayor when he was leaving town.
Saleem also complained that Domish told reporters about a drug sweep before telling the mayor, although city documents dispute the mayor's assertions.
Shortly after the drug sweep, Saleem placed Domish on paid leave and asked the sheriff's office to conduct the investigation.
Reporter Eric Stevick contributed to this story.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
Comments
(
