Be careful what you ask for. You may just not like what you get. …

Fargo Police Chief David Todd and former Police Officer Todd Dahle did not like my article on the resignation process involving Keith Ternes that appeared in The Extra and unheralded.fish three weeks ago. They thought it short of facts. (If you’d like to review their comments in their entirety, see them at the end of that post:

I was intrigued by how neither can apparently tell personal opinion from “journalism.” Journalism is when the facts are reported objectively ― ideally, when all the facts are reported. Opinion is what I have expressed about the facts, based on all the evidence I gathered and digested. And I do have solid documentation, on which every word of my opinion is based.

The new chief demanded I consider new facts of which I was previously unaware. So I am happy to honor his request. The results, though, will please neither him nor his friend Dahle.

Most of us will recall the calming influence Mayor Dennis Walaker had on the Fargo community during times of crisis. He did not fear controversy, and he treated individuals with respect. He was the liaison between the City Commission and the Police Department. While I have no firsthand knowledge on the subject, I believe that, if not for his failing health at the time, the mayor would have been outraged at the treatment of Chief Ternes. He may also have been just as outraged at the political herd mentality and lack of leadership on the City Commission and in Human Resources while dealing with the perceived problem.

It’s because of Chief Todd’s concerns and former officer Tod Dahle’s insulting comments that I’m going to go into some interesting history ― history which, if repeated, would have defused the situation and separated the suicide of a Fargo police officer from any issues within the department.

Some background

Back in 1999, a group of disgruntled employees got together and made false accusations against then-Officer Keith Ternes. They also targeted Steve and Tammy Lynk. Their supposed crime? Ternes and Lynk were guilty of nepotism and favoring their wives.

The review process began back then in the same manner it developed last year, but with the following major and appropriate exceptions. The city’s human resources director was initially going to accept anonymous complaints. He was asked, “How can you verify anything, and give those charged a chance to respond?” The director properly concluded (methinks, with some suggestion from then-Mayor Bruce Furness, the best communicator Fargo has ever had) that she would in fact take complaints, but the people making them could not remain anonymous.

Let’s take a look at the definition of word “integrity,” which I believe describes how the matter was handled in 1999:

1. Strict adherence to a moral code, reflected in transparent honesty and complete harmony in what one thinks, says, and does.

2. State of a system where it is performing its intended functions without being degraded or impaired by changes or disruptions in its internal or external-environments.

3. Stored or transmitted data that is free from any unauthorized change.

In 1999, Fargo had an incredible mayor in Bruce Furness, along with some great commissioners, and Human Resources knew its function. Since Furness kept the city administrator on a very short leash, common sense prevailed.

After months of investigating, the HR director found that all of the complaints were false. (I’m advised that several of the complainants in 1999 were the same people involved in the recent process.) Then-chief Ronald Raftevold took the bull by the horns after the investigation was complete, and on March 23, 1999, issued a memorandum entitled “Nepotism Investigation.” It was a gutsy call. Here’s an excerpt:

“The Director of Human Resources has concluded the investigation on allegations of the nepotism policy of the City. The report concludes there is no basis in fact to the allegations made against individual members of the department. Human Resources will recommend some changes to this policy.

“Unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations are not only personally and professionally damaging to the individuals, but also can damage the public’s confidence in the department, cause disruption in the work force, and lower employee morale. While we all share First Amendment privileges of free speech, there are limitations. The department has no intention of muzzling members’ ability to discuss legitimate public policy issues. However, defamation, slander and speech aimed at hurting individuals and the department will not be tolerated.

“If any department member has an issue within the department that they feel is adversely affecting their work environment, the chain of command must be followed to try and resolve those issues:”

The same kind of petty internal crap took place when Chief Chris Magnus was preparing to leave. Once he was gone (serving as police chief in Richmond, Calif.), the name-callers were in full swing.

After my first piece on the departure of Chief Ternes, Fargo’s newly named Chief Todd demanded a “more complete story, based on the facts.” I have those facts. Regarding Chief Ternes being pilloried in public and press, the entire process totally lacked integrity.

It wasn’t enough that the complainants could remain perfectly anonymous. So could their specific concerns! Shrouded in secrecy, they could say anything they wanted. No record of what they said was maintained by anyone involved, so nothing could be verified. The whiners and their concerns were never disclosed.

Many Fargo citizens volunteered their time to conduct the investigation of Chief Ternes; these comments are not aimed at them. They were saddled with the dim-witted restrictions Deputy Mayor Tim Mahoney and HR Director Jill Minnette worked out. Unlike the calm, professional process worked out in 1999 by the Furness administration, the Mahoney administration panicked, threw due process out the window, and caused the resignation of a 28-year veteran of the force who had an unblemished record of service ― all while the real mayor, Dennis Walaker, was seriously ill and unable to be involved.

This time, it wasn’t enough that the complainants could remain perfectly anonymous. So could their specific concerns! Shrouded in secrecy, they could say anything they wanted. No record of what they said was maintained by anyone involved, so nothing could be verified. The whiners and their concerns were never disclosed.

What did come to light in the review was that the Fargo Police Department was an efficient organization that did its job well, and that the employees were, for the most part, happy with their jobs. If one takes Lt. Jeff Skuza’s tragic suicide out of the picture ― in no way attributable to Chief Ternes ― what reasons can be shown that justified terminating him?

I’ll tell you: not one damn thing. If this whole process had been properly handled, Keith Ternes would still be on the job serving the city today, and any problems would have been resolved. That would, of course, take integrity in the process. There was none.

A process comparison

It’s hard to explain why men and women who carry weapons and are sworn to protect and serve would not have had the courage to speak publicly, on the record, about concerns within the Police Department.

Having seen how it was properly done under Chief Raftevold and Mayor Furness, let’s review the “open process” that Deputy Mayor Mahoney & Company used to investigate Chief Ternes:

They appoint a committee of concerned citizens, at the request of Chief Ternes himself, who asked for a full, complete and impartial investigation. Of course, the chief was aware of how this had been done in the past, and assumed the matters would be documented. The people appointed were all good, honest citizens who had only one problem: They were appointed because HR Director Minnette didn’t think she should be involved so that people interviewed “would be more comfortable openly discussing their concerns.”

But that was her job. The “comfort” of the complaining employees should not have been her concern. Some worried that the FPD employees would not interview if their identities were known. Easy fix. They agreed no one would be identified, and then took it a step further by not recording anything that was testified. I’m told there aren’t even interview notes available.

Unnamed complainants … no documented complaints … and this is a fair process? It enabled individuals to say whatever they wanted about a chief ― an officer with an unblemished record ― without the slightest risk of being held accountable.

Where was the big F (The Forum of Fargo) and other local media when this travesty was going on right under their noses? Was everyone asleep at the switch?

I find it interesting to note that the Fraternal Order of Police wanted witnesses to be paid … and their request was accepted. Pay a witness to testify, or they won’t do it? Wow, how could that not give anyone pause for thought!

Under a Freedom of Information request, one could easily learn who testified, though we’ll never know what they said. Then one would be able to look at the work records of those who anonymously testified against the chief and see whether they had any motivation for doing so. I’m not personally interested in pursuing that. But I hope the big F might consider doing its job in a little more depth, even at this late date.

Here is something else worthy of thought: Those witnesses were paid, at taxpayer expense. The date on which these paid witnesses appeared is known.

Under a Freedom of Information request, one could easily learn who testified, though we’ll never know what they said. Then one would be able to look at the work records of those who anonymously testified against the chief and see whether they had any motivation for doing so. I’m not personally interested in pursuing that. But I hope the big F might consider doing its job in a little more depth, even at this late date.

Closed doors and secrets

You see, I’ve seen individual Fargo police officers in action. They have no peer in their street performance nor, in my experience, in their professionalism in court proceedings. One on one, I have never met a member of the force whom I didn’t like. This story aside, I still feel that way.

I find no fault with conducting the investigation of Chief Ternes, which he actually requested himself. Things went downhill when certain city officials decided to do it behind closed doors, out of the public eye.

Look through the newspapers and city minutes at the time, and you’ll find Commissioner Dave Peipkorn saying, “The Chief did nothing wrong.”

Jane Pettinger, who serves on the Civil Service Commission, was quoted: “It’s important the information is confidential but not anonymous.” She had it right, but that wasn’t done.

Deputy Mayor Mahoney said he wanted the committee to review morale issues within the Fargo Police Department. That was the investigation’s scope, but it was exceeded. That was a job that should have been handled by the Human Resources Department. Jane Pettinger and Jim Thoreson were quoted as saying that overall, most of the officers are satisfied, but there was room for improvement, including in communications.

Thoreson agreed with Pettinger that this was the message they heard all the way through the interviews. And Deputy Mayor Mahoney added, “The City of Fargo has an excellent Police Department, but some things could be done to make it better.”

On March 20, 2015, the attorney general issued an opinion indicating the state’s open records law had been violated by the city of Fargo in November — before the Ternes resignation. This was issued in response to requests for a legal opinion by John Strand of the High Plains Reader and the editor of The Forum. If it weren’t for their requests and the subsequent opinion, much more of the information on who did what, when and where would not be known even now. More of the “fairness” afforded Keith Ternes? Not!

At the time, upon learning of Keith Ternes’s resignation afterward, Deputy Mayor Mahoney said something like “Keith didn’t do anything wrong.”

Commissioner Melissa Sobolik responded with something like, “Well, if he didn’t do anything wrong, what’s our messaging with this whole situation?”

Yet Chief Keith Ternes was forced to resign. Not one reason was given.

Keith has not commented on any of this because the city of Fargo made him sign a “nondisclosure agreement” (my term for it), so he couldn’t speak to any of these concerns, then or now.

One more thing: The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is not unionized, but it acts as though it’s a union, and the current administration treats the group as if it were. Officer Mike Mitchell carried the ball to get officers paid for their testimony, and Grant Benjamin, a representative of FOP, was invited to attend the first meeting. Of course one could say, “This deck was not stacked from the beginning” ― if they were dumb, stupid and blind.

I wonder if anyone threatened to complain about the fact Ternes’ wife worked for the department. (Incidentally, she had an exemplary record.) Based on my having the same facts the city had ― that is, none ― I suspect they were going to try to play that card again.

Something happened. The committee didn’t present anything formal to Ternes that he could respond. And they asked him to resign before ever meeting with him.

Chief Ternes, like Chris Magnus before him, had an open-door policy and held his people to high standards. He was a man of honor and expected the best of others. He earned the respect of the city and its employees, but couldn’t be a buddy to all. Don’t look for the records proving that he played favorites ― they don’t exist. Look, instead, at the records of the whiners, and you may find their motives.

The process was designed to fail

Chief Ternes, like Chris Magnus before him, had an open-door policy and held his people to high standards. He was a man of honor and expected the best of others. He earned the respect of the city and its employees, but couldn’t be a buddy to all. Don’t look for the records proving that he played favorites ― they don’t exist. Look, instead, at the records of the whiners, and you may find their motives.

Shawn Gamradt of the Fraternal Order of Police was quoted in the big F talking about the chief’s erratic decisions. But neither he nor the local newspaper provided examples or details, because those details don’t exist. Afterward, Acting Chief Todd sent out an email telling the department to stop bad-mouthing Chief Magnus. He said he didn’t know who was doing it, but to knock it off. Score (1) for the buddy system. The state’s attorney told him about it. All he’d have needed to do was go to his Facebook page, where he’d have seen those derogatory posts and who was making them ― but, then in his “I want everyone to like me” phase, that didn’t happen either.

Chief Ternes used the phrase, “doing what’s right, not what’s popular.” That’s what he did. If you want to review what you might do to be popular, just read the two stories the Big F has published on the man who replaced him. Chief Todd seems to be working on the popularity issue; with time, he’ll get to the part about “what’s right.” Over time, I think we will be able to watch as the responsibility of his new office weighs down on him, as it did on Chief Ternes and Chief Magnus.

Some critics might note that I’ve been ragging on this issue without stating a whole lot of specific facts. Now you should know how Ternes must have felt. By the way, this column (and last week’s) contain far more hard facts than were ever presented to Keith Ternes himself or to the public at the end of the so-called investigation.

By the way, did I forget to mention this? Dr. Carol Archbold, professor of criminal justice at North Dakota State University, submitted an extremely detailed report on “Workplace Experiences of Patrol Officers in the Fargo Police Department.” She is a professional with a wealth of experience and additional credentials who produced an impartial, objective study of the precise matter at hand. Deputy Mayor Mahoney rejected her request to be on the study committee.

Nothing more needs to be said. The entire process, from start to finish, failed the fairness test. Amen.