Costs climb as investigation at juvenile justice center widens

EVERETT — The cost of investigating potential misconduct among Snohomish County juvenile detention staff is expected to creep higher into the six figures as a web of accusations grows more entangled.

The Human Resources Department wants the County Council to authorize up to $350,000 for an outside attorney’s ongoing investigation — a potential 75 percent jump in cost. The current contract is for a maximum of $200,000. The personnel inquiry covers allegations of sexual harassment, racial discrimination and retaliation against employees who speak out.

The request could reach the council next week for discussion.

“This was an extremely large and complex case,” county human resources director Bridget Clawson said.

The county is paying Mill Creek attorney Marcella Fleming Reed $300 an hour to conduct the investigation.

The scope of the work has grown to include nearly all of the detention staff at the Denney Juvenile Justice Center.

To date, Reed and her staff have spoken to 78 employees, some multiple times, Clawson said. That’s led to 140 interviews.

The investigation has explored complaints from 14 different people, she said. There are 21 people accused of misbehavior.

That work has generated 40,000 separate documents for review, Clawson said. The interviews are done, but the attorney still needs to finish separate reports for each complaint. That’s expected to take at least another month.

The probe covers sexual harassment allegations that have kept Everett City Councilman Ron Gipson on paid administrative leave from his day job as a county juvenile corrections officer since early this year.

A detention supervisor placed on leave at the same time as Gipson has returned to work, said court administrator Bob Terwilliger, who oversees Denney.

Early findings from the investigation turned up nothing to warrant keeping the supervisor away from the workplace, Terwilliger said. No one else is on leave, he said.

The turmoil in the juvenile lockup came to light in February, when three women accused Gipson and unnamed supervisors of sexual harassment and retaliation. To settle the claim, they asked the county for $450,000 each in damages, plus attorney fees.

The women sued the county in April over the allegations. The plaintiffs are Dee Thayer, Barbara Lucken and Karen Hastings. In the suit, they describe a locker-room atmosphere where they felt threatened and ridiculed.

All three have worked in juvenile corrections at the county since the late 1990s, slightly less time than Gipson.

Three black men who work at Denney, including Gipson, said they’ve been subjected to a racist smear campaign. He and two black supervisors lodged a complaint about it in February.

The personnel problems come during a protracted labor dispute at Denney. A 12-person bargaining unit that represented juvenile detention supervisors recently split in two. The employees are trying to form separate unions.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.