As reported in March, Sedona Police Deputy Chief Ryan Kwitkin, Sgt. Laura Leon and Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police Charlene “Sherri” O’Connor previously met with Human Resources Director Russ Martin to report the existence of what they described as a hostile work environment in the Sedona Police Department, under the command of Sedona Police Chief Stephanie Foley.
In April, Kwitkin said the work environment created by Foley was hostile and toxic, and that she had allegedly violated numerous sections of the SPD Policy Manual.
Eight of Kwitkin’s allegations against Foley were investigated by Revolutionary HR Consulting, an outside firm under contract to the city, but none of the allegations were substantiated. The city issued a statement to that effect on May 23 but did not release a copy of the investigation report until July 31 due to a second ongoing investigation into the actions of Kwitkin, the findings of which were also released on July 31.
The independent investigation of SPD included the review of more than 250 text messages, emails, videos and voice recordings and interviews with 23 current city employees.
Allegation 1
Kwitkin alleged Foley created a hostile work environment.
■ Kwitkin alleged that in November, Foley began making inappropriate and unprofessional comments to Kwitkin after he reported that he had been pulled over and given a warning for running a red light in Flagstaff.
Kwitkin then alleged Foley had been excesively critical about the setup for an employee appreciation party. According to investigators, Foley told Kwitkin she didn’t want staff assisting them because it would defeat the purpose of doing something for staff. Kwitkin instead directed a staffer to fetch water and a podium he was directed to move, and told Foley he had “totally forgotten” to bring a plaque for a retiring lieutenant, which led to a “very intense” interaction, according to Foley.
■ Kwitkin alleged that Foley engaged in non-consensual physical touching on Nov. 1 and March 12, neither of which Foley could recall. Foley said she remembered giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek when formally presenting him with his badge. Foley, four employees and the then-city manager said hugging was not uncommon in the department.
Allegation 2
Kwitkin and O’Connor alleged retaliation.
■ O’Connor alleged Foley engaged in retaliation after O’Connor voiced concerns in August 2022 to then-City Manager Karen Osburn during the process to select the next police chief. Foley was ultimately promoted to chief.
According to investigators, Osburn told Foley she would need to improve communication within the department based on feedback about her promotion from numerous people, but denied informing Foley about O’Conner’s specific comments or naming any of the employees who provided any of that feedback during the chief selection process.
Investigators determined that O’Connor received critical feedback from prior Police Chiefs David McGill and Charles Husted — before Foley’s promotion — and all three chiefs also noted six times that she failed to take Excel, budget and PowerPoint training courses as directed, first by McGill back in 2015.
■ Kwitkin alleged Foley complained about the tinted windows in his private vehicle, which were out of compliance with state law. He offered to remove the tint or get a medical exemption, but later told investigators he did not qualify for an exemption.
■ Foley directed Kwitkin to work with the Finance Department to purchase a new SUV, but Kwitkin alleged Foley interfered with the purchase process. Emails he provided to investigators showed that the relevant interactions had only taken place between the dealers and equipment installers and Foley did not interfere.
■ Kwitkin alleged Foley was overly critical about employees’ timecards, but Foley stated he was not retaining information they had discussed or taking notes, which led to the repeated errors.
■ Kwitkin alleged Foley micromanaged his office but Foley denied doing so.
■ In October, Kwitkin alleged that Foley was critical of his ops plan for the city’s Uptown Halloween event. Foley said the plan had flaws, such as the absence of important phone numbers.
■ Kwitkin alleged he received verbal reprimands from Foley about which uniform to wear. Foley agreed they would often discuss uniforms for various functions, but “from her perspective it was Kwitkin that needed regular reassurance that he was fitting in,” investigators wrote.
■ In November, Kwitkin alleged that Foley acted in a retaliatory manner by relocating his office following a disagreement over the lieutenant selection process. Foley said the office nearest hers was occupied by various employees over the years — the deputy chief, lieutenants and sergeants. Her decision to move him placed him nearer the sergeants’ offices, report writing room and garage and he did not express any objections. She checked before making the move final “because I wanted to be thoughtful. And he said he didn’t have any issues,” Foley told investigators.
■ Kwitkin alleged there was nothing negative in his sixth-month evaluation, but Foley’s ratings were “meets expectations,” noting he need to work on attention to detail, leading fairly, “high risk” policies, improving the vehicle fleet, improved tracking of vehicles and personnel, getting peer support up and running, helping Foley train two new lieutenants, keeping schedules and calendars up to date and looking for a leadership class.
Foley told investigators of an “emerging pattern of Kwitkin not working on high-priority tasks, such as developing policies,” and struggling “with retaining details about the status of vehicles out of repair.” She said he told her “he was a procrastinator and that he ‘only likes the fun things at first’ or in his verbiage, the ‘sexy’ things … it’s really hard to do the other stuff, he’s not interested in it.”
Allegation 3
O’Connor alleged Foley made repeated references to an employee’s age.
■ O’Connor alleged Foley referred to her as “Mama Sherri” and at least one time referred to her as “Grandma Sherri.” O’Connor initially told investigators Foley coined the nickname, but later said it came from a former patrol officer who “would always say, ‘Good morning, Mama Sherri,’ because he felt I was taking care of him.”
Foley said O’Connor used that term about herself and seven employees said they never heard Foley use it. Additionally, former Chief Husted used the term “PD Mom” when referring to O’Connor in her 2019-20 evaluation.
Allegation 4¹
Kwitkin alleged that Foley failed to uphold the SPD Code of Ethics by permitting personal prejudice or friendships to influence her decisions.
■ In November, when hiring for a second lieutenant, Kwitkin alleged Sgt. Laura Leon was the top candidate. Leon was among the top four — the top candidate was from Chicago and later withdrew — but the city wanted non-sworn civilians to be considered for one of the lieutenant rank positions as it was an administrative post, with the other being a sworn officer as patrol lieutenant.² Two civilians applied. Three sworn officers and a civilian were the final four candidates, with Erin Loeffler eventually being hired. As Loeffler is a civilian, not a sworn officer, the “lieutenant” rank was changed to “manager of support services,” but the ranks are equal.
Loeffler moved into Kwitkin’s former office, because “logistically it made more sense to create proximity of the functions with the supervisors,” investigators wrote.
■ In August 2023, Foley directed Kwitkin to record two employees without their consent. While one-party recording is legal in Arizona, Kwitkin asked Foley for a formal request to do so; Foley said one of the officers had been volatile in a previous meeting. Investigators determined this recording did not violate policy.
Allegation 5
Kwitkin alleged that Foley failed to provide sufficient training and orientation to new employees, Kwitkin and a lieutenant, in March 2023 and January 2024, respectively.
■ Foley noted she discussed duties and timecards, but Kwitkin still failed to notice discrepancies in the timecards. The lieutenant noted the city did not have a field training manual for lieutenants, but added it was “just like most departments.”
Allegation 6
Kwitkin and O’Connor alleged Foley failed to provide performance feedback.
■ Kwitkin alleged Foley failed to provide specific expectations while Kwitkin was on probation, including specific examples of his shortcomings that resulted in extension of his probation, and delayed scheduling training with the third-party Lancaster Leadership Group.
Kwitkin provided screenshots of 112 text messages alleging Foley was being passive-aggressive. Foley provided 113 text messages and four notes “acknowledging things he did well.”
Foley met with the HR director “to frame her feedback about the written comments on the 360 [evaluation] since there were some that were very negative.” After meeting with Kwitkin on Jan. 24 and extending his probation, a vacation and the city’s evacuation and reentry training led to the delay in scheduling the Lancaster training.
■ O’Connor alleged that Foley failed to provide guidance and feedback regarding O’Connor’s 2022-23 evaluation and didn’t want her to assist Kwitkin with duties not listed in her 2017 job description.
Foley stated that O’Connor’s performance was consistent with O’Connor’s 2017-18 evaluation by former Sedona Police Chief David McGill, who wrote that O’Connor “often overextends herself and takes on too many tasks, putting her behind in her primary duties. This is not a negative trait but must be done thoughtfully so that her primary mission is completed on time and correctly.”
Investigators determined that Loeffler echoed Foley’s concerns about O’Connor. O’Connor also allegedly engaged in unprofessional behavior during an encounter with Loeffler on April 2, after which Foley issued a memo of written counseling.
■ Kwitkin alleged that Foley failed to notify Human Resources and the city manager about extending his probation.
The HR director was notified on Jan. 24. The city manager, who was interviewed on April 10, said she was also made aware.
Allegation 7
■ Kwitkin alleged that Foley failed to place the extension of Kwitkin’s probation in his personnel file.
Investigators determined that Foley placed a copy of the file in his SPD work file. Annual evaluations are completed through the city’s ADP system, but memos and performance documents are in SharePoint and sent to HR upon request.
An extension of probation is not considered an “internal investigation” and, as such, reports are not sent to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.
Allegation 8
Kwitkin alleged that Foley made false statements regarding employees’ execution of their duties.
■ A new lieutenant suffered an injury while climbing a wall obstacle at a course in Gilbert. Under SPD policy, a SPD officer must observe the candidate for the test to count toward department requirements; otherwise it is considered practicing, not testing. Kwitkin reported the injury for worker’s compensation, but according to Foley, such practicing is not covered by worker’s compensation. Additionally, Foley discovered that Kwitkin did not have an officer present when he did the course and a former sergeant had approved his test, so Kwitkin was unaware of the policy.
Conclusions
Investigators determined the eight allegations against Foley were unsubstantiated.
“To the contrary, Foley’s actions are indicative of a supervisor seeking to correct a subordinate staff’s performance. Specifically, by utilizing the tools and city resources available, including consulting with HR, extending Kwitkin’s probation and providing him with coaching through the Lancaster group. These actions were not arbitrary, as they were taken in response to a record of poor performance, and receipt of negative 360-degree survey feedback.”
Investigators also reported that “Kwitkin attempted to minimize the performance feedback that Foley provided” and “relayed to the investigator that there were no issues in his six-month probationary review other than identifying the need for him to learn Arizona laws. However, upon review, it was evident that Foley had identified several other areas that needed to be addressed.”
Out of 23 interviewees, six — including Leon, O’Connor and Kwitkin — stated they believed that Foley was directly responsible for creating a hostile work environment, but 16 attributed the toxic environment in SPD to Kwitkin.
Items of Note
Four employees reported grievances about Foley before she was promoted to chief.
“Historical grievances and chronically high turnover in small departments can often lead to the proliferation of anecdotes, rumors, and gossip and ‘urban legends’ that have a negative impact on the departmental culture,” investigators noted.
Investigators also determined that “management by email and text messages contributed to misunderstandings and miscommunications due to the reliance on short and brief messages,” as did the use of personal cell phones for business purposes, especially for text messages, which creates an open public records risk. The decision to switch a lieutenant position to a civilian one after recruitment had begun was not well-timed and created a perception of favoritism. ²
Foley admitted that there could have been better communication about the decision to the department.
Kwitkin Investigation
Based on interviews conducted by the outside investigators, Revolutionary HR Consulting recommended the city conduct an internal investigation into the conduct of Kwitkin, who was placed on paid suspension on May 24.
Human Resources Director Russ Martin interviewed 14 staffers regarding 13 allegations, 10 of which were substantiated, another of which was partially sustained and two of which were unsubstantiated. Kwitkin was ultimately terminated July 10.
For that full story, click here.
¹ Editor’s Note:
This story was originally published in two parts. The first story, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, covered Allegations 1, 2 and 3. The second story, published Friday, Aug. 9, covered Allegations 4 through 8, the Conclusion, Items of Note and the Kwitkin Investigation followup. The two stories have been combined here.
² Correction
Loeffler was one of two civilians who applied but Loeffler was the only civilian in the final four. According to the report, “An external candidate from Chicago was the top candidate. However, that candidate withdrew” and “As the process concluded, there were four highly qualified candidates: an external candidate, Leon, Loeffler, and an internal candidate. Foley wanted to decide ‘who makes the best team out of them, taking into account how they performed, their history within the department.'”
The original text in Allegation 4 incorrectly read: “Leon was among the top four — the top candidate was from Chicago and later withdrew — but the city manager and HR Department wanted a civilian in the role, so it was offered to two civilians, with Erin Loeffler eventually being hired. As Loeffler is a civilian, not a sworn officer, the “lieutenant” rank was changed to manager of support services.”
Under “Items of Note,” the investigators wrote “The decision to switch a lieutenant position to a civilian one after recruitment had begun was not well-timed and created a perception of favoritism,” which was in error. City officials have later clarified that this statement in the official report was in error. There were two open lieutenant positions; the city initially advertised both as sworn officer positions, then later amended the job listing so at least one of the positions could be offered to either a civilian or a sworn officer.
