The city of Sedona launched an investigation into Sedona Police Chief Stephanie Foley following allegations of creating a hostile workplace made by Deputy Chief Ryan Kwitkin, Sgt. Laura Leon and Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police Charlene “Sherri” O’Connor on March 14.
An independent investigation into Foley’s conduct by Revolutionary HR Consulting began on March 18 and concluded on May 23, which interviewed 23 city employees and determined eight allegations made against her were unsubstantiated.
Afterward, Revolutionary HR suggested the city investigate allegations of misconduct by Kwitkin that were discovered during interviews regarding Foley.
Kwitkin was subsequently placed on paid suspension on May 24 pending an internal investigation.
Human Resources Director Russ Martin conducted the investigation and interviewed 14 staffers regarding 13 allegations, 10 of which were substantiated, another of which was partially sustained and two of which were unsubstantiated.
On June 12, Kwitkin was notified that the allegations against him included unprofessional conduct while in uniform, aggressive conduct toward staff and volunteers, violation of the notice of investigation, admonishments given prior to and during the Foley investigation, personal use of department assets, disclosing confidential information and violating departmental and city policies governing the position of deputy chief.
Kwitkin was notified of the city’s intent to terminate him on July 1 and was offered a predetermination hearing. Kwitkin requested a hearing on July 3, but did not show up to either meeting offered on July 9 or 10. He was terminated on July 10.
The final assessment of the investigation, issued July 31, also added allegations of harassment, uncooperative and insubordinate actions during the investigation and failure to improve on unacceptable employee performance.
Submittal-Memo-to-CM-Deputy-Chief-Investigation-CompleteThe 10 substantiated allegations against Kwitkin included:
■ In October, Kwitkin allegedly acted aggressively during a call for service at a Sedona Police Department volunteer’s home regarding key checkouts. Two volunteers reported that he had employed an aggressive tone and body language that showed disregard for personal space and dismissive behavior toward the volunteers.
■ In January, Kwitkin allegedly made a request for the K-9 officer to use the police K-9 to search his home because he reportedly suspected that his adult child had drugs on the premises.
The officer declined Kwitkin’s persistent requests. Such use would have violated the law, was an abuse of authority, violated of K-9 deployment policy and would have been considered a “gift” of city resources for personal use, Martin wrote.
■ In February, Kwitkin reportedly made a female officer uncomfortable during a meeting with her in the report writing room, when he allegedly locked the door and blocked her from exiting.
■ On March 14, when meeting with Martin, Kwitkin allegedly disclosed confidential information about the 2023 lieutenant search and selection process in the presence of Leon, who had been a candidate for that promotion. Kwitkin suggested Leon was the leading candidate — she was not but was among the top four.
As Leon was unaware of that before the meeting with HR, “there was no other purpose to make an incorrect statement about the lieutenant selection to Sgt. Leon except to cause discord and conflict in the workplace,” Martin wrote.
■ Kwitkin allegedly continued to discuss the Foley investigation with Leon, O’Connor and others after being instructed not to do so. Leon described how Kwitkin “would often call at night to rant about the investigation and next steps.”
■ After being repeatedly warned not to discuss the investigation, “Kwitkin regularly and openly discussed the future of the department during the investigation with numerous staff. He suggested ‘things will be different, things will get better’ when the investigation was over and overtly promised equipment and training changes that would be coming,” Martin wrote.
Kwitkin provided Martin with a list of employees to contact and appeared “to try and set up positive feedback about his leadership and the potential for a change in leadership” at stake in the Foley investigation.
■ Kwitkin acted unprofessionally and was insubordinate during the delivery of the Notice of Investigation, and refused to complete the NOI paperwork as directed.
“He generally responded negatively, including the interaction in an attempt to keep his weapon on him,” wrote Martin, who was joined by the acting Cottonwood police chief and a lieutenant when he delivered the NOI because of concerns that Kwitkin’s reaction would be aggressive. “The officers were able to remove it [his firearm] with the understanding he would get it back after this was completed. To say the least, a very intense moment.”
Kwitkin initially refused to provide his city cell phone pass code, only texting it to Martin several hours later.
■ Kwitkin failed to improve his communication, leadership and teamwork roles and responsibilities during the extension of his probation and failed to provide a written memo outlining his training to Foley.
■ While on paid administrative leave, without permission from HR, Kwitkin took a second job as a dealer trades driver for a Cottonwood car dealership.
■ Kwitkin twice refused to be interviewed after being ordered to comply by the city, and as mandated by the NOI he signed, according to Martin, who wrote that Kwitkin stated he believed he should have received transcripts of audio interviews generated during and as part of the investigation prior to beginning his interview. Martin denied that request as it would have compromised the confidential responses from staffers.
The partially sustained allegation was that:
■ Kwitkin was unprofessional in completing assignments. In his annual review he stated he completed his work with minimal assistance, as he regularly provided his work to other employees, including his spouse, a city employee outside the department; he claimed feedback from co-workers and members of the department was positive when his 360 evaluation and interactions showed otherwise; he incorrectly handled the awards committee process and employee appreciation event; and attacked his superior’s conduct and the department in his performance review.
While providing work to his spouse should have been cleared by his supervisors, Martin said he could find no official violations under the current policy and Kwitkin’s refusal to be interviewed made it impossible to determine if he had shared any confidential information. However, there is evidence that Kwitkin gave police department work to his wife, Karen Kwitkin, the executive assistant to the city manager, on more than one occasion. Incidentally, she verbally resigned from the city on May 23.
Martin said Kwitkin may have misunderstood the direction regarding the employee appreciation event, but without an interview, he could not sustain the allegation of disregarding directions.
Regarding the sustained components of the allegation, Martin wrote that Kwitkin appears unable “to take constructive critique,” regarding evaluations, and used his own evaluation to attack the chief and the department.
The two unsubstantiated allegations were that:
■ Kwitkin allegedly recruited Leon and O’Connor to file complaints against Foley, and attempted to leverage information about Leon as cover for his allegations against Foley. It appeared they had their own concerns with Foley and would have liked to have those addressed separately from Kwitkin’s complaints.
■ In April, Kwitkin allegedly acted unprofessionally in front of members of the public at Sedona Red Rock High School regarding a personal matter while in uniform. The principal and school resource officer confirmed Kwitkin was acting as a concerned father and not misusing his uniform; Martin came to the same conclusion after watching camera footage of the incident.
Full Deputy Chief Ryan Kwitkin Internal Investigation
Conducted by Sedona Human Resources Manager Russ Martin as a follow-up to allegations stemming from Chief Foley investigation completed by Revolutionary HR Consultants:
Kwitkin-Internal-Investigation-Report-June-2024-FINAL-REPORT
