Marion cop loses his job over racial epithet

In a year of unprecedented scrutiny of police misconduct and moves for reforms across the nation, a Marion officer with more than five years of experience in the department has been ousted for using a racial slur, records show — a violation that leaders of other Corridor law enforcement agencies say would bring repercussions if it had happened on their forces, too.

According to records from the Iowa Workforce Development Unemployment Insurance Appeals Bureau. Marion officer Thomas J. Allen was given the choice of resigning or being fired after he used the epithet during a training exercise to describe a makeshift remedy for a slipping holster.

After the Nov. 13, 2020, ouster, Allen was denied unemployment benefits. In a March 23 decision, administrative law judge Jennifer Beckman upheld the decision to deny benefit to Allen.

Allen, with the Marion force since 2015, apologized. But the administrative law judge said that did not help his case.

“Cognizant that the claimant has apologized for his conduct, the administrative law judge is persuaded the claimant knew or should have known his conduct was contrary to the best interests of the employer. Claimant’s use of a known racial epithet amounted to misconduct, even as a first offense,” she ruled. “Benefits are denied.”

The state ruling said Marion has a “zero tolerance policy” against harassment, and that there was no option other than ousting the officer.

Marion and other departments do have anti-harassment and police conduct policies — though none of the law enforcement leaders interviewed by The Gazette say they specifically have a “zero-tolerance” policy or that termination is the only outcome of a violation.

That, despite the specific language in the ruling, includes Marion.

“Really, what it means is that we simply don’t tolerate certain behaviors as they pertain to harassment or retaliation, and if an incident should occur, we will investigate and apply the proper disciplinary action, which could mean termination, but could also mean some other form of consequence,” Marion Human Resources Director Kirsten Fischer said in describing the policy.

Marion policies define harassment as “behavior that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment that is so pervasive that others’ work performance is affected.”

“The bottom line is that we (the city of Marion) want our employees to be able to work and thrive in an environment that's free of that harassment and retaliation,” Fischer said. “If a situation should arise, we will look into it whatever it may be — we’re not going to let it go, that’s what we mean by zero tolerance — and we’ll apply the appropriate disciplinary action.”

Similarly, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office policy states discriminatory harassment is “contrary to … a work environment that is free of discrimination” and that retaliation for reporting the behavior “will not be tolerated.”

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said any such behavior is unacceptable and would be dealt with swiftly.

“While the words ‘zero tolerance’ aren’t specifically stated in our policies, I have no tolerance for this type of behavior,” he said in an email. “And, yes, it does apply to off-duty conduct as well.”

The Iowa City Police Department anti-harassment policy also condemns the language, saying that findings of harassment and discrimination are considered “serious misconduct” that can result in discipline, including termination.

“The language in our policies does not include the words ‘zero’ or ‘tolerance,’ but you could play a semantics game and see that there are obviously parts in our policies that say (harassment and discrimination are) not tolerated,” Iowa City Police Chief Dustin Liston said. “And in our department, employees have a duty to report and prevent incidents of that nature.”

Liston said every complaint of harassment or discrimination is investigated — either internally or by the city’s human resources and legal teams, depending on the severity of the complaint.

Cedar Rapids has a city policy, which covers police officers, against harassment, which it defines as “conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual” based on race and other factors that has detrimental effects in the workplace.

The police department’s Code of Conduct prohibits the use of “coarse, profane, indecent, or insolent language in normal, day-to-day conversation” within the department. Additionally, “controversial discussion” while on duty — including the use of disrespectful, disparaging or derogatory language toward any nationality, race, sex, religion or occupation — is prohibited.

Public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said in an email that “any complaint is thoroughly investigated and appropriate actions would be considered based on the investigation results.”

The workplace harassment policy for Linn County employees — including sheriff’s deputies — states the county “will not tolerate” harassing conduct that “creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.”

The policy states employees who have experienced or witnessed harassing behavior are to notify their supervisor, department head or the county’s human resources director.

If the complaint is verified, the policy states, “the county will take corrective action,” including termination.

Comments: (319) 398-8238; kat.russell@thegazette.com.