The Oak Harbor police chief has resigned after the mayor conducted an investigation into problems at the department, interviewed 33 current and former members of the force and concluded that it is “broken.”
Police Chief Ed Green accepted a separation agreement that will award him a severance package, Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns said.
“I hope I can help fix the problems,” Severns said. “It’s not going to happen quickly. Some of the problems have been around for a number of years. They festered and got worse.”
Green turned in his badge, gun and car more than a week ago. He could not be reached for comment.
Under the separation agreement, Green agrees not to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. He will receive six months of severance pay, totaling $60,000, and a letter of recommendation from the mayor. The City Council approved the deal on Tuesday.
Police Capt. Teri Gardner has served as acting chief when Green was out of town or away. During previous vacancies, the police captain has taken on the role of acting chief. This time, City Supervisor Doug Merriman will run the department until an outside interim police chief is appointed.
Severns said he has already interviewed four candidates — all from outside the department — for the interim post. Severns said he will immediately begin the process for finding a new police chief; he said he expects the new permanent chief will also be from outside the department.
Green made headlines in the region after he left a gun in a supermarket bathroom, but the mayor’s examination of the department began months before that.
Just after he took office at the beginning of the year, Severns sent out an open invitation to all members of the department to talk with him. In all, 29 of the 37 current employees were interviewed, as were four former employees.
The mayor found a lack of communication within the department caused some of the issues.
“There was absolutely no communication between the chief and the captain,” Severns said. “That results in factions and problems for everyone else.”
His biggest concern, he said, was the possibility of problems in the department jeopardizing public safety.
“The officers said they weren’t sure that their backs would be covered,” he said.
Green was appointed to the office in the fall of 2012 by former Mayor Scott Dudley. Green had been the administrative sergeant at the Port Townsend Police Department; before that, he worked as a cop in Los Angeles.
Green was chief during a time of turmoil and controversy.
Last year, some members of the police union were upset because of a perception that the police administration handled discipline issues in an unfair and biased manner. The concerns came to a head when Green issued Gardner a warning letter for allegedly being dishonest about her romantic relationship with a subordinate officer, whom she later married. Some people felt that the punishment would have been more severe if she was a rank-and-file member of the department.
The union members passed a 16-10 vote of no-confidence against Gardner.
A no-confidence vote was also taken in regard to Green. It failed to pass with 14 people voting against it, 11 voting for it and three abstentions.
Severns said more changes may be coming to the department, but those will be made in consultation with an interim or new police chief.
Jessie Stensland: 360-675-6611, ext. 5056; jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com.
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