Atlantic Beach Police Chief Michael Classey is being investigated after a female officer accused him of inappropriate conduct, a police labor union official said Wednesday.
The city has hired Jacksonville lawyer Margaret Zabijaka to investigate Officer Rene Jackson's claim against Classey, said Mike Scudiero, spokesman for the Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents Atlantic Beach's officers.
City officials and Zabijaka declined to comment, saying they don't discuss personnel matters.
Classey declined to discuss if there's an investigation into his conduct. But he reiterated earlier statements that some rank-and-file Police Department employees have resented him since he took over in October.
Scudiero said Zabijaka called the Benevolent Association to begin inquiries into the complaint.
"What we know for sure is the city has contracted with an attorney to investigate claims that one of our officers has made that there is harassment taking place from the chief toward her," Scudiero said.
"She felt uncomfortable around the chief," said Scudiero. "You can't just pass it off as an innocent, harmless act. I think it goes far beyond that. ... It was a situation where when she entered the building, the chief would run to find her. It's not the type of activity that's consistent with normal police department policy."
In April, Classey talked about tension in the department since he was promoted from captain to chief.
"People are going to look for things to fault me on," he said then.
On Wednesday, he said that should be considered in any complaint against his management of the department.
"I will reiterate those same comments," he said. "You've already got me on record with regards to what I had said in a previous situation about the changes in the department. Those situations remain current and in effect."
In response to a public records request this week, City Manager Jim Hanson said, "There are no public documents that you can get under public records [laws] at this point."
Scudiero said the latest complaint is more of a sign of tension between administrators and officers.
"Clearly there are some officers that have some concerns with what's going on there," he said.
Asked if the city is investigating complaints by Jackson against Classey, Hanson said, "I'm not going to discuss it. Any complaints about individual employees is not something I think would be appropriate to discuss with the press. ... I'm not even going to confirm or deny that there is such an investigation."
It's typical for labor unions to have hostility toward government administrators, Hanson said.
"We have had, over the years, a number of grievances filed by police officers as well as a number of employees from all departments. That's the nature of having unions," Hanson said.
Classey was subjected to one of the most thorough background checks in city history before he was hired in 2006 and his professional history is not consistent with any kind of misconduct, Hanson said.
Classey was hired with the intent of him starting as captain then becoming chief to replace David Thompson, who is now the assistant city manager.
Classey had been a lieutenant in the Kennesaw, Ga., Police Department outside Atlanta. He was hired after a nationwide search that included about 100 candidates for the Atlantic Beach post.
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