Embattled W. Richland chief who faced multiple ‘no confidence' votes by officers is leaving

Yahoo

22-02-2025

West Richland's police chief will be leaving after a series of investigations and 'no confidence' votes from officers.
Chief Thomas Grego is retiring from leading the 19 officer department starting June 1, according to an email sent from the city's human resources staff.
The plan for finding his replacement remains unclear. The announcement said Mayor Brent Gerry will work with the chief and department commanders to 'ensure a smooth transition.'
Several people have claimed on Facebook that Grego already has cleared out his office, but city officials told the Herald he's still working and just took items to a new home he plans to live in once he retires.
Grego told the Herald that he and his wife have been getting their retirement home ready in Idaho.
He spent more than 25 years in law enforcement, all but one with the West Richland Police Department. He served five years as department's captain, the number two spot at the time, under former Chief Ben Majetich.
'My decision to retire is guided by both personal and professional considerations,' he said. 'Now that I have successfully cleared my name and reputation of the unfounded allegations leveled against me, I must carefully consider what is best for both the department and my family.'
While Grego and the city have said the chief has been cleared from the allegations, an outstanding complaint by the union is headed for a hearing in front of the Public Employment Relations Commission in early March.
He has spent the past year facing accusations of harassment, retaliation and abuse that led to the unfair labor complaint. That followed multiple votes of no confidence by the West Richland Police Officers Association.
Gerry and city officials have said the chief has been cleared twice of any wrongdoing.
'We take any claims brought to our attention seriously and are committed to ensuring transparency and accountability,' Gerry said in a news release announcing the findings of the second investigation. 'The findings affirm our commitment to operating with integrity and in alignment with our values.'
Grego, an Army veteran, started his career in law enforcement 25 years ago, according to the city. He started with the West Richland Police Department as a reserve officer 24 years ago.
He's been a Tri-City Regional SWAT team incident commander, an instructor in a number of disciplines and served as a detective on the Metro Drug Task Force.
He graduated from the private Liberty University as well as the FBI Academy in Quantico.
He also served 20 years in the U.S. Army both as an active duty and reserve soldier. He earned more than 25 medals including a Bronze Star in Afghanistan in 2008.
The chief said he is proud of efforts to reduce crime and updating policies to improve officer safety, as well as enhancing training and bringing in new equipment.
'Among the most well-received initiatives was the introduction of Polar, the state's first therapy dog for officers,' Grego told the Herald. 'I am incredibly proud of all we have accomplished together during my tenure as chief.'
'While it is bittersweet to conclude my long and distinguished career in both the military and the city of West Richland, I believe the time has come to retire and allow new leadership to guide the department into the future.'
While officials have continued to support the chief, the union has voted 'no confidence' in Grego multiple times.
Officers have claimed there is a pattern of 'mental and emotional instability' and said he had a practice of targeting people who were critical of him.
The votes don't have any legal repercussions, but they are an unusual move for police officers. It's happened twice in the Tri-Cities in the past decade. Once when Benton County deputies expressed their concerns about former Sheriff Jerry Hatcher, who was later recalled from office. The second time, when Prosser officers said Chief Jay King wasn't doing his job. King was later terminated.
Two West Richland officers central to some complaints against Grego, Sgt. Athena Clark and Officer Roman Siepert, have since claimed they were targeted for retaliation after complaining.
Siepert left the department in June 2024 after an investigation into 'dishonesty,' according to a union complaint. Grego signed off on the finding 'despite clear evidence to the contrary.'
Clark, who had once been one of the top people in the department, was forced out after a 25-year career in law enforcement. The allegations came after she ended up colliding with a suspect who was trying to flee police officers.
'Despite clear video evidence to the contrary, Chief Grego alleges that Sgt. Clark 'rammed' the suspect vehicle with her patrol vehicle, used deadly force, engaged in a pursuit against policy, falsified documents and made false statements.'
West Richland's mayor has continued to stand behind Grego. He pointed to a study conducted by Janice Corbin from Sound Employment Solutions, then a second investigation conducted by Kjersten Turpen and Heather Fossity from the law firm Ogletree Deakins.
Union leaders have previously been critical of Corbin's report, saying that it wasn't complete. The union hasn't commented on the new report.
While Corbin's report has been publicly available, the report from Turpen and Fossity had not been shared. The Tri-City Herald requested and obtained a copy of the investigation under Washington's Public Records Act.
City officials redacted names from the report, except for Grego's. But it appears that the complaints match those made by Clark.
Turpen and Fossity appeared to have interviewed Clark, the chief, two West Richland police commanders, the executive director of the Columbia Basin Veterans Center, Grego's executive assistant, a police records supervisor, and a Pasco police captain. The city's human resources' manager also provided information.
It does not appear that they talked to anyone else in the officers' union.
The investigators looked through nine allegations against Grego, including claims that Clark was ordered not to talk to human resources, he yelled at Clark, mocked her for not drinking alcohol at a conference and then became severely intoxicated and publicly humiliated her at a meeting when she stepped down to become a sergeant.
They found that in all but one of the allegations that there wasn't enough to support the allegations. While many of the other witnesses said Grego was passionate, none of them confirmed Clark's full version of the events.
They found one of Clark's complaints had merit. In it, Clark alleged that Grego found out about a medical condition Clark had. The exact nature of the condition was redacted from the report.
Clark said Grego 'yelled at me, screamed at the top of his lungs and said if he had known I had ... he would not have hired me,' according to the investigation.
The witnesses denied hearing Grego shout at anyone.
Grego told the investigators that 'he was not sure Chief Majetich would have hired her 'given the trauma involved.' Chief Grego explained that 'he wouldn't do that to any officers' himself and that he 'wouldn't do that to any cop.''
The investigators found that Grego did say he wouldn't have hired Clark if he had known of her medical condition.
Turpen and Fossity don't offer any recommendations for how the city should use that information.