Union wants guns banned

The union has asked Superintendent Walt Rulffes to require that officers involved in negotiating for police contracts refrain from bringing their guns to negotiation meetings.

The union’s request stems from an incident in which district Police Chief Hector Garcia allegedly made inappropriate comments toward a federal mediator and then simulated a kick to her backside as he was walking behind her during a May 22 bargaining meeting.

After the allegation surfaced, Garcia was banned from any further meetings. Police union members and district officials have been ironing out terms of a new contract for the district’s police since March. The contract for officers expires June 30.

Phil Gervasi, president of the district’s Police Officers Association, said there are about a dozen people at the bargaining table during the meetings, including five officers from the police union who carry guns. But Gervasi said those five officers have not taken any guns into the bargaining meetings. However, if Garcia is not allowed to return to negotiations, there still will be two officers representing the district who carry loaded guns to the meetings.

“Since we’ve already had an incident of workplace violence, we don’t want guns at the meetings,” Gervasi said, referring to the May 22 meeting. “Weapons could be an intimidation factor for the civilians who are working at these bargaining sessions.”

Bill Hoffman, the district’s attorney, said both sides should resolve the issue about weapons during the bargaining session next week.

“You don’t negotiate the terms of negotiations in a press release,” Hoffman said of the union’s approach on the matter. “You do it by having a discussion. That’s where the discussion has to happen, and that hasn’t happened yet. Negotiations are on June 12, and I think that’s when they should take this up.”

Gervasi and a member of the parent union for the district’s police union, Communication Workers of America, said the district has not taken the allegations against the district’s police chief seriously and a hostile work environment has resulted.

A formal complaint was sent to Rulffes asking him to conduct an investigation into the May 22 incident. John Duran, who represents the Communication Workers of America and was present during the May 22 meeting, said the district hasn’t interviewed anyone from the police union in order to determine what really happened.

Both Gervasi and Duran said actual negotiations have been amicable, and that a federal meditator was brought in from the beginning of the bargaining process to introduce a resolution method called interest-based bargaining. The approach is meant to smooth negotiations.

“We as a union apologized to the federal mediator for the behavior of our so-called leader,” Gervasi said. “We are totally, totally embarrassed by his actions.”

Rulffes, who said he approves of the idea of leaving guns behind at the negotiations, said the case is closed against the “individual who made the inappropriate remarks.”

Rulffes would not name the individual as Garcia, citing confidentiality laws.

Rulffes questions the police union’s motives.

“The individual did apologize, and the mediator did accept that. I don’t see what further concern there is, unless it’s somehow to exploit the incident for some other reason.”