Suspensión temporal del detective Charles Riley

OF
RECEIVED
TAX
DESIGN
CITY OF AUSTIN
CIVIL SERVICE OFFICE
March 11, 2021
12:43 p.m.
FOUNDED
1839
MEMORANDUM
Austin Police Department
Office of the Chief of Police
TO:
Joya Hayes, Director of Civil Service
FROM:
Brian Manley, Chief of Police
DATE:
March 11, 2021
SUBJECT:
Temporary Suspension of Police Detective Charles Riley #4640
Internal Affairs Control Numbers 2020-1506
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code, Section
143.052, and Rule 10, Rules of Procedure for the Firefighters', Police Officers' and
Emergency Medical Service Personnel's Civil Service Commission, I have temporarily
suspended Police Detective Charles Riley #4640 from duty as a City of Austin, Texas
police officer for a period of 2 Days. The temporary suspension is effective beginning on
March 12,2021 and continuing through March 13, 2021.
I took this action because Detective Riley violated Civil Service Commission Rule 10.03,
which sets forth the grounds for disciplinary suspensions of employees in the classified
service, and states:
No employee of the classified service of the City of Austin shall engage in,
or be involved in, any of the following acts or conduct, and the same shall
constitute cause for suspension of an employee from the classified service
of the City:
L.
Violation of any of the rules and regulations of the Fire
Department or Police Department or of special orders, as
applicable.
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The following are the specific acts committed by Detective Riley in violation of Rule 10:
Unrelated to his employment with the Austin Police Department (APD), Detective Charles
Riley is actively involved with a local school district as a volunteer. On or about September
12, 2020, Detective Riley posted a Facebook Live social media video statement directed at
the parents of students of the local school district (a Kids First Facebook group). Detective
Riley recorded the video statement inside an APD interview room while wearing his APD
patrol uniform. At the beginning of his video statement, Detective Riley stated that he was
an employee of the APD, but declared he was not on duty while recording the video.
Detective Riley recorded the video in response to a YouTube video posted the previous
day by a teacher at a high school within the district that Detective Riley served as a
volunteer. In broad terms, the teacher's video advocated for virtual learning in place of in-
person classroom instruction during the pandemic. Detective Riley's video, in broad terms,
took the opposite side of the debate. In essence, concerned parties voiced their differing
views or concerns on in-person versus virtual learning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Detective Riley was asked by Internal Affairs if he had any regrets in how he went about
making the post and he stated the following:
RILEY:
Um, I regret that, um, I did it wearing the
uniform of the Austin Police Department. Um,
and I regret that, um, it came across as p-
apparently to [the teacher] as being, um, you
know, intimidating to her or that she felt that I
was somehow attacking her. Um, I was simply
disagreeing with her. Um, and I should've
waited 'til I took the uniform off.
Internal Affairs asked Detective Riley if he encountered the situation again, how he would
handle it differently. Detective Riley indicated, " I would, express my opinion, without
identifying where I work, either through wearing uniform or outwardly saying where I
work.' In retrospect, Detective Riley expressed remorse, acknowledging that he violated
APD's General Order 801.6 Political Activities, Endorsements, and Advertisements. He
also assured his chain of command that he would not repeat this infraction.
By these actions, Detective Riley violated Rule 10.03(L) of the Civil Service Rules by
violating the following rules and regulations of the Austin Police Department:
Austin Police Department Policy 801.6: Equipment and Uniform Regulations:
Political Activities, Endorsements, and Advertisements
801.6 Political Activities, Endorsements, and Advertisements
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Unless specifically authorized by the Chief of Police, Austin Police Department
employees may not wear any part of the uniform, be photographed wearing any
part of the uniform, utilize a department badge, patch or other official insignia, or
cause to be posted, published, or displayed, a photograph as an employee of the
Austin Police Department in order to:
(a)
Endorse, support, oppose or contradict any political campaign or
initiative.
(b)
Endorse, support, oppose or contradict any social issue, cause or
religion.
(c)
Endorse, support, or oppose any product, service, company or other
commercial entity.
(d)
Appear in any commercial, social or non-profit publication, or any
motion picture, film, video, public broadcast or on any website.
By copy of this memo, Detective Riley is hereby advised of this temporary suspension and
that the suspension may be appealed to the Civil Service Commission by filing with the
Director of Civil Service, within ten (10) days after receipt of a copy of this memo, a proper
notice of appeal in accordance with Section 143.010 of the Texas Local Government Code.
By copy of this memo and as required by Section 143.057 of the Texas Local Government
Code, Detective Riley is hereby advised that such provides for an appeal to an independent
third party hearing examiner. If appeal is made to a hearing examiner, all rights of appeal
to a District Court are waived, except as provided by Subsection (j) of Section 143.057 of
the Texas Local Government Code. That section states that the State District Court may
hear appeals of an award of a hearing examiner only on the grounds that the arbitration
panel was without jurisdiction or exceeded its jurisdiction, or that the order was procured
by fraud, collusion or other unlawful means. In order to appeal to a hearing examiner, the
original notice of appeal submitted to the Director of Civil Service must state that appeal
is made to a hearing examiner.
In addition, if this disciplinary suspension is for three (3) days or less, Detective Riley is
advised of the following provisions of Article 18, Section 1, of the Meet and Confer
Agreement:
The parties agree that when an officer is suspended for 1, 2, or 3 days the officer may
choose one of two methods of dealing with the suspensions as listed below.
a)
Suspensions that may not be appealed. The officer may choose to use
vacation or holiday time to serve the suspension with no loss of paid
salary and no break in service for purposes of seniority, retirement,
promotion, or any other purpose. The officer must agree that there is no
right to appeal if this method of suspension is chosen.
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b)
Suspensions that may be appealed. The officer may appeal the
suspension to arbitration or the Civil Service Commission. If the officer
chooses to appeal the suspension, the arbitrator or Civil Service
Commission's authority is limited to ruling on whether or not the charges
against the officer are true or not true. If the arbitrator or Civil Service
Commission finds the charges to be true, there is no authority to mitigate
the punishment. If the arbitrator or Civil Service Commission finds the
charges to be not true, the officer shall be fully reinstated with no loss of
pay or benefit.
Arbitration Costs on Appealable Suspensions
In the event that an officer appeals a 1, 2 or 3 day suspension to arbitration, it is agreed
that the party that loses the arbitration shall be responsible for all costs of the arbitrator,
including travel and lodging if necessary.
To facilitate such payment on the part of the officer he shall submit, at the time of appeal,
a signed payroll deduction agreement that if the arbitrator rules in favor of the City he
authorizes up to one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month to be deducted from his regular
pay until such time as what would usually be the City's portion of the arbitrator's costs
have been satisfied.
BRIAN Joy MANLEY, the Chief of 2174 Police
3-11-21
Date
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I hereby acknowledge receipt of the above and foregoing memorandum of temporary
suspension and I have been advised that if I desire to appeal that I have ten (10) days from
the date of this receipt to file written notice of appeal with the Director of Civil Service in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code.
Police Detective Charles Riley #4640 42/0 Date 03/11/2021
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