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[h=4]Report finds Dolezal misconduct on Spokane panel[/h]SPOKANE, Wash.— Amid a national controversy about her race, an unrelated investigation found Wednesday that Rachel Dolezal acted inappropriately while serving as a volunteer on this city's Police Ombudsman Commission.
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Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart held a press conference Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. KREM
Questions about the race of Rachel Dolezal, 37, of Spokane, Wash., who has identified as black, have received national attention.(Photo: KREM-TV, Spokane, Wash.)
SPOKANE, Wash.— Amid a national controversy about her race, an unrelated investigation found Wednesday that Rachel Dolezal acted inappropriately while serving as a volunteer on this city's Police Ombudsman Commission.
The city's mayor, David Condon, and its City Council president, Ben Stuckart, immediately called for her resignation and the resignations of two others condemned in the probe.
The independent investigation looked into a whistle-blower complaint filed against three members of the commission. The investigator found that the three of the five commission members, including Dolezal, had behaved rudely and unprofessionally during interactions with city employees.
The employee who filed the complaint alleged the three "collectively and individually behaved via e-mail, in person interactions and in public meetings, in a very rude disrespectful and degrading manner directly and indirectly to me."
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The investigation began May 4, ended June 5 and included interviews with 20 witnesses.
"We are deeply disturbed by the facts contained in the report of findings from the independent investigator," Condon and Stuckart said in a joint statement. "The conduct is unacceptable and falls far short of the community's expectations of volunteers who sit on city boards and commissions."
“The conduct is unacceptable and falls far short of the community's expectations of volunteers who sit on city boards and commissions.”
Spokane Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart
Eight findings in the report admonish the conduct of Dolezal, the commission's chairwoman, and commissioners Kevin Berkompas and Adrian Dominguez, finding a pattern of misconduct and harassment, according to the report. The three also apparently conducted commission business outside of its public meetings, making decisions on agenda items via e-mail and giving them a majority vote.
"It has been forwarded to the City Council for review and determination of any action," a release accompanying the report stated.
The Spokane City Council could remove all three commissioners as soon as Thursday during a special meeting if they choose not to resign. Stuckart said he personally called each of the three Monday night and asked them to resign.
"She didn't even have the guts to apologize to her own community," Stuckart said. Dolezal left Spokane on Monday for an interview on NBC's Today show in New York City.
Condon and Stuckart do not believe that a more thorough background check would have prevented the misconduct. Both admitted that the misconduct finding is a huge setback for city officials in regaining trust and accountability in police matters.
On May 6, Spokane police shot but did not kill a reportedly suicidal man after a tense standoff. On Nov. 8, an officer shot but did not kill a domestic-violence suspect after a car chase. On April 29, 2014, two officers killed an armed man who drove up to the scene of a homicide. On March 26, 2014, four officers fatally shot a robbery suspect armed with a pellet gun.
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The woman who filed the complaint against Dolezal, Berkompas and Dominguez began working at the office two weeks before the retirement of Tim Burns, the previous police ombudsman.
The complaint alleges shortly after Burns left, the trio began micromanaging the woman, wanting to know which projects she was working on and trying to control which tasks had priority. The complaint also alleges that the three would give the woman directives that conflicted with what other commissioners had told her to do.
The complaint states the woman met in both January and April with Chris Cavanaugh in the city's human resources department regarding the treatment she was receiving.
USA TODAY
Rachel Dolezal: 'I identify as black'
Scott Richter, another police ombudsman commissioner, told investigators that he, too, observed his fellow commissioners' conduct and brought concerns to council members on several occasions. He told council members that he believed the conduct of the three led to Burns leaving his job.
Richter stated that the three were mistreating staff and expressed concern that they were taking on duties specifically reserved for the police ombudsman.
The report accuses the three of using the threat of a poor evaluation to intimidate or retaliate against the woman who filed the complaint.
USA TODAY
Spokane NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal steps down
She submitted a resignation notice May 6, effective May 20. She now has an interim position in the mayor's office while the city attempts to find a new position for her, according to the report.
Among other report findings:
• Dolezal and Dominguez exhibited a bias against law enforcement within the scope of their activities as commissioners and in public, citing Dolezal's involvement with protests of recent officer-involved shootings.
• Dolezal's position as Spokane NAACP president, which she resigned Monday, was a conflict of interest with her role as police ombudsman commission chairwoman. Her involvement with protests of law enforcement also was in conflict with her ability to serve on the panel in an unbiased manner.
• Dolezal breached her duty to keep certain information confidential by revealing the name and identity of individuals involved or potentially involved in police-misconduct investigations.
USA TODAY
NAACP leader Dolezal cancels chapter meeting
Berkompas, Dominguez and Dolezal all began serving Sept. 15, 2014, on the Police Ombudsman Commission.
Berkompas and Dominguez's terms are up in September 2017. Dolezal's term expires Sept. 15, 2016.
Dolezal was thrust into the national spotlight over allegations from her parents that she misled people about her race.
City of Spokane officials said they are investigating whether she may have violated any city policy or code of ethics when she applied to lead the commission. The investigation was forwarded Monday from the City Council to the city's Ethics Commission.
Related:
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Whites pass for black to gain empathy, experts say in wake of Dolezal case
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Accused of lying about race, she may have misled more
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Parents out 'black' NAACP leader as white woman
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