[WA] Asst. Tacoma Police Chief Jim Howatson's demotion has nothing to do with anger "flare-up" allegations or "difficult times in his personal life"

Effective Nov. 15, Assistant Chief Jim Howatson, 53, will become a captain... Department spokesman Mark Fulghum said the change was not the result of disciplinary action or because of the concerns raised over Howatson’s anger [or the "difficult times in his personal life"]...

ASSISTANT TACOMA POLICE CHIEF DEMOTED AFTER TRAFFIC TICKET OUTBURST, ANGER ISSUES: Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell has demoted an assistant chief who came under criticism earlier this year after an outburst over a traffic ticket and for other anger flare-ups.
News Tribune
Stacey Mulick;
11/06/10
Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell has demoted an assistant chief who came under criticism earlier this year after an outburst over a traffic ticket and for other anger flare-ups. Effective Nov. 15, Assistant Chief Jim Howatson, 53, will become a captain. Howatson, who oversees the Investigation Bureau, will move to the Administrative Services Bureau, which handles training, hiring, accreditation and Internal Affairs. Ramsdell declined to comment Friday about the move, and Howatson couldn’t be reached. Department spokesman Mark Fulghum said the change was not the result of disciplinary action or because of the concerns raised over Howatson’s anger by the union representing other commanders in the department... [Full article here]

EXCERPTS FROM PREVIOUS ARTICLES AND COMMENTS:

ASSISTANT TACOMA POLICE CHIEF UNDER SCRUTINY FOR 'ANGER' ISSUES
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News
Amy Clancy
February 11, 2010
Tacoma police officers are claiming that Assistant Chief Jim Howatson has had numerous "anger" issues. And these claims have been uncovered ONLY by KIRO 7. This week, the President of Tacoma Police Management Association #26, delivered this letter to Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell that details concerns over Howatson's "anger flare-ups." According to the letter obtained by KIRO 7, Assistant Chief Howatson has been involved in at least five "alleged performance complaints" within the past year. THREE "ANGER FLARE-UPS" IN ALL - TWO WITH FELLOW TACOMA OFFICERS, A THIRD WITH A WASHINGTON STATE PATROL TROOPER on December 25th, 2009. The letter also alleges that Howatson has had, "UNAUTHORIZED/IMPROPER ACCESS TO (AN) EMPLOYEE'S FILE." THE UNION ASKS THE TACOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT TO INTERVENE, SO THAT HOWATSON CAN "GET THE HELP HE NEEDS." The letter further states that HOWATSON IS "GOING THROUGH SOME DIFFICULT TIMES IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE."... [Full article here]

LETTER CITES TACOMA POLICE ASSISTANT CHIEF’S ‘ANGER FLARE-UPS’
News Tribune
Sean Robinson
02/12/2010
Members of a TACOMA POLICE COMMANDERS UNION have filed a complaint with Chief Don Ramsdell, contending that an assistant chief’s recurring “anger flare-ups” OVER THE PAST YEAR deserve scrutiny. The Feb. 10 complaint letter, originally obtained by KIRO-TV, comes from the Tacoma Police Management Association (Local 26). IT CITES FIVE 2009 INCIDENTS INVOLVING ASSISTANT CHIEF JAMES HOWATSON... The complaint letter urges Ramsdell to take action, noting that the number of incidents in a 12-month period triggers internal police department requirements for early intervention. It also alleges a history of favoritism toward Howatson. “The combined alleged behaviors demonstrate characteristics that are affecting his performance and early intervention is imperative,” the letter states. It was signed by Capt. Mark Feddersen, president of the union. Feddersen did not respond to a voice-mail message Thursday evening. Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said department leaders will examine the allegations and proceed accordingly [Full article here]


LETTER FROM TACOMA POLICE MANAGEMENT UNION
News Tribune, Lights & Sirens
Posted By Stacey Mulick
February 13, 2010 at 1:40 am
[Excerpts] Here's the text of the letter sent Wednesday by the Tacoma Police Management Association to Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell regarding Assistant Police Chief Jim Howatson... Dear Chief Ramsdell: It has come to our attention there has been another alleged anger flare-up involving A/C Howatson and a Washington State Trooper... This makes approximately five alleged performance complaints involving A/C Howatson, which exceeds the early intervention system indicator criteria of 3 or more complaints in a 12 month period.
1. Anger flare-up with Lt. A.D. Roberts
2. Anger flare-up with Detectives Baker and Griffith
3. SID overtime fund and assignment complaint
4. Anger flare-up with WSP Trooper
5. Unauthorized/Improper access to employee’s file
We understand A/C Howatson is going through some difficult times in his personal life right now, but the combined alleged behaviors demonstrate characteristics that are affecting his performance and early intervention is imperative... Some of our members believe A/C Howatson has been given exceptionally more leniency than former A/C Mielbrecht before he was disciplined for his alleged performance issues... We are not looking at adversely effecting A/C Howatson. We are looking for fair and equitable treatment. Also, we are looking to encourage positive and supporting intervention measures so A/C Howatson can get the help he needs... [Full article here]

‘ANGER FLARE-UP’ ALLEGATIONS, CHIEF’S RESPONSE
The News Tribune
02/13/10 12:05 am
[Excerpts] ...According to the State Patrol, the trooper issued a speeding ticket to Howatson on Dec. 25 for going 23 mph over the speed limit on Interstate 5. Four minutes into the stop, the trooper asked for a supervisor from the Tacoma Police Department to come to the scene. The officer canceled the request 11 minutes later after a trooper with a dashboard camera arrived to record the incident... Ramsdell said that during the stop the trooper became aware that Howatson was a member of the Tacoma Police Department... After the trooper was interviewed and Howatson submitted a report, [Tacoma Police Chief Don] Ramsdell said he determined no further investigation was warranted... "in the end, this was a traffic stop,” Ramsdell wrote... [Full article here]

POLICE CHIEF DEFENDS ASSISTANT: Tacoma: No wrongdoing on four accusations, he says; investigators examine newly raised issue
News Tribune
Stacey Mulick
02/13/10 12:05 am
Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell responded Friday to a union letter raising concerns about the behavior of one of his top assistants, saying four of the five allegations had been investigated and no wrongdoing found. In a detailed letter to City Manager Eric Anderson, Ramsdell went through each of five episodes the Tacoma Police Management Association Local No. 26 raised regarding assistant police chief Jim Howatson, who oversees the criminal investigation bureau. The chief said he will direct Internal Affairs to look into a fifth allegation, which had not been raised before. “While I agree that taking the letter at face value would cause a great deal of concern, I do not have concerns about assistant chief Howatson based on the actual facts,” Ramsdell states... Instead, the chief raised concern about how the union conducted itself with the letter, which was sent Wednesday to Ramsdell, Anderson and the city’s human resources director, and leaked to KIRO-TV. “I am specifically concerned with the way they have used the letter to make inflammatory conclusions for which they have provided no basis,” Ramsdell wrote... [Ramsdell] stated that each of the allegations, which came from employees, third-party reports and anonymous letters, was taken seriously... Ramsdell’s letter also noted that Local 26 had, in previously meetings with Ramsdell, raised other examples of Howatson being aggressive in personal interactions with other employees. Ramsdell said he talked to the employees named by the union. “None of them provided me with any information that assistant chief Howatson had done anything improper,” Ramsdell wrote... The Local 26 letter stated that Howatson had had five performance complaints in a year, which should have triggered the department’s so-called early intervention system... [Full article herehttp://www.thenewstribune.com/news/crime/story/1068520.html]

TICKET TELLS TROOPER’S SIDE OF TRAFFIC STOP: Assistant chief: Officer said Tacoma official’s tone surprising
Stacey Mulick
Monday, Mar. 08, 2010
[Excerpts] An assistant Tacoma police chief yelled at a Washington State Patrol trooper during a traffic stop Dec. 25 and questioned how the trooper could “clock” him going more than 20 mph above the speed limit, according to documents obtained by The News Tribune. Trooper Kenyon Wiley wrote assistant chief Jim Howatson a $206 ticket for going 83 mph on Interstate 5 in Tacoma. A hearing on the ticket is scheduled for March 16. Local 26, the union that represents the Police Department’s captains and lieutenants, cited the ticket and what it termed Howatson’s “anger flare-up” with the trooper in a letter last month to Police Chief Don Ramsdel raising concerns about Howatson’s behavior... The News Tribune received a copy of the ticket from the State Patrol after a public disclosure request. The ticket provides Wiley’s account of the encounter. Asked about the details contained in the ticket, Ramsdell declined to comment beyond what he’d said in his letter... The trooper’s digital radar unit clocked the car at 83 mph... Howatson was “exhibiting possible attack indicators ... ... “He replied in a loud sarcastic tone..." [Trooper] Wiley wrote that Howatson’s tone surprised him. When he asked for Howatson’s license, registration and proof of insurance, “He yelled ‘I am a Tacoma police officer!’”... Wiley asked another trooper to respond to record the interaction with a dashboard camera. He also requested that a Tacoma police lieutenant come because he recognized Howatson as a member of the department’s command staff... [Full article here]
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