Public records provide new details in the strange story of how Richland hired Brigit Clary just weeks after she’d resigned from another department to avoid being fired.
Five years later, she was promoted to be Richland’s chief, then after about 17 months announced her retirement — only to find herself placed on a legally required list of cops with questionable records.
Records obtained by the Tri-Cities Observer show that Richland City Manager Jon Amundson was warned of red flags in Clary’s history well before promoting her to be the city’s top cop. Not only that, but he told the Observer he made no effort to check with her previous employer to determine the truth of the matter.
In early February 2022 Councilmember Theresa Richardson relayed a tip to Amundson about problems when Clary worked in the Federal Way Police Department.
Amundson told the Observer in an email that the person who tipped Richardson to Clary’s issues in Federal Way wouldn’t give their name or provide any details.
As for why Amundson did not have someone check with Federal Way, he wrote that “the City thought it knew what there was to know about Brigit Clary based on the background investigation conducted in 2017.”
As Richlanders await the selection of a new police chief to replace Clary, the records raise questions about the level of vetting the city conducts of both new hires and candidates for the most important police job it has.
For a chief or sheriff, a clean job history is widely considered crucial to their ability to set a tone of ethical leadership as well as a culture of accountability and community-oriented policing for their officers.
Told of the records showing Amundson was warned about Clary’s record, City Councilmember Ryan Lukson wrote in an email to the Observer that he “was not aware” that Amundson had received a heads-up on Clary’s alleged misconduct before the city manager promoted her to chief. “I will have a discussion with Jon to gain a better insight into his awareness.”
Phil Lemley, who was a Richland councilmember at the time, also expressed concern. “If true, it sounds like a thorough vetting by all concerned was not accomplished,” he wrote to the Observer.
Amundson said he doesn’t think cities typically conduct further investigations into a candidate for chief who is an internal promotion, rather than an external hire.
But Joseph Blaettler, a former deputy police chief in New Jersey who teaches ethics in criminal justice as an adjunct professor at the College of St. Elizabeth, and who serves as an expert witness on police practices, doesn’t agree.
“Obviously, someone dropped the ball here. He should have conducted some investigation into the tip to find out if it was valid or not. If it was valid, then they should have put her promotion on hold,” he told the Observer in a telephone interview.
Clary did not respond when the Observer emailed her the Federal Way investigation records on November 30, or to follow-up questions on Dec. 15.
Records show that Amundson’s promotion of Clary raised concerns in at least one other law enforcement agency.
In an April 29, 2022 email, a high-ranking prosecutor in King County shared with colleagues internally a news article bout Clary being promoted in Richland. The prosecutors had tracked her departure under a cloud from the Federal Way Police Department five years before, records show.
“Forced to resign from FWPD for falsifying … her husband’s timesheets and lands better job,” wrote then-Assistant Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Wyman Yip. “I’m doing it wrong.”
News breaks of Clary placed on list of cops with questionable records
On Dec. 13 the Tri-City Herald reported that Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger had placed Clary on his office’s Brady list after learning of a 2017 investigation by her former employer, the FWPD that accused her of nepotism and untruthfulness.
In 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland ruled that to ensure a fair trail, defendants must be told of evidence that could be used to show their innocence, such as internal documents undercutting an arresting officer’s credibility. To comply with the landmark ruling, prosecutors today keep lists of cops with questionable records that must be disclosed to defense attorneys, including findings of untruthfulness, misconduct, or criminal activity.
According to the Herald the Benton County prosecutor took the action after an anonymous source provided the FWPD investigation to the city of Richland, Benton prosecutors and the Herald. [The anonymous source also contacted the Observer, but did not provide the report, which instead was obtained under the Washington Public Records Act].
A city attorney for Federal Way told the Herald that the police department had been “headed toward” firing Clary, “but she resigned.”
Tom Croskrey, the then-Richland police officer responsible for investigating Clary before she was hired, told the Herald that he knew that Clary was on administrative leave and informed then-police chief Chris Skinner, who wanted to hire her anyway.
Records alleged time-card shenanigans and untruthfulness.
Public records obtained through a record request to the city of Federal Way show that Clary’s firing was all but complete when she suddenly resigned.
Federal Way Police Chief Andy J. Hwang sent Clary a letter of intended discharge through her union representative on February 17, 2017. It began, “The purpose of this letter is to notify you of my intent to terminate your employment from the Federal Way Police Department and the City of Federal Way.”
The internal police investigation of Clary found that she showed favoritism to her husband by permitting him to work overtime hours on a registered sex offender (RSO) grant without extending the same or equal opportunity to other lieutenants and police officers in the department. She didn’t have a commander approve the overtime as required, nor did she require her husband to notify her in advance of the dates and times he planned to work the overtime as she did everyone else. At times, while being paid overtime under the grant, John Clary was already receiving his regular pay for non-overtime work.
“Lt. (Brigit) Clary was not forthright and truthful at all times on all matters” in her statements about whether a commander was available, according to the 26-page investigation.
Investigators concluded that Clary, her husband, and her family benefitted from her husband’s RSO overtime personally, which amounted to more than $1,500.
In the termination letter, Clary was also advised of her right to what’s known as a Loudermill hearing, which gives public employees an opportunity to present their case when they could face loss of pay through suspension, termination, or demotion.
On March 7, Hwang wrote to his command staff, “Lieutenant Brigit Clary did not request a pre-termination hearing. Lt. Clary has communicated, through her attorney, that she will resign from the agency on March 13, 2017.”
The King County Prosecutor’s Office had been informed of Clary’s paid administrative leave during the investigation. In January 2017, prosecutors began listing her as “unavailable” for court appearances. Soon after she was placed on the “pending” Brady list.
King County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel J. Clark wrote the Observer in an email, that the effect of the “pending” tag meant that, for all intents and purposes, Clary was essentially added to the county’s Brady List in 2017. “We are obligated by law to provide notice to defense counsel of both “pending” and “sustained” findings related to dishonesty, and we take that obligation seriously. So in practice, this officer is on our “disclosure list” to defense counsel and has been since we were notified.”
The public can obtain the list through a public record request, Clark wrote. A November 1 records request by the Observer to his office led to the records about Clary being provided in 15 days.
Despite knowing of two potential red flags — Federal Way having placed her on administrative leave, and her applying for a sergeant’s job in Richland shortly after having resigned from a higher rank in Federal Way — Richland hired her.
Skinner did not respond to emails from the Observer.
In an email, Amundson defended the city’s background investigation of Clary in 2017 as “thorough.” However, he wrote, the city “was not given access to any internal affairs report” about her. “All of the feedback given to Richland by Federal Way regarding Brigit Clary was positive.”
But Blaettler, the former deputy chief in New Jersey, told the Observer that the background check was obviously not comprehensive. Blaettler now heads the firm East Coast Private Investigations and serves as an expert witness on police administration.
Blaettler said that the city should have asked for Clary’s file from Federal Way, including investigations, discipline, and work history. If the FWPD claimed it was confidential, Richland officials should have asked her to sign a waiver so they could see it.
“Then they would have realized there was a problem and they shouldn’t hire her,” he said.
Clary joins the Richland Police Department
Just six weeks after her departure under a cloud from Federal Way, the city of Richland swore in Clary as a sergeant on April 18, 2017, according to a post on the Richland Police Department Facebook page.
On March 20, 2019, Clary was promoted to lieutenant in Richland, and on November 10, 2021, she was promoted to deputy chief.
Then-Chief John Bruce abruptly resigned with three days’ notice on January 25, 2022, and Clary was immediately named interim police chief.
That’s when Richland got a second chance to background Clary thanks to a tipster who alerted the city to issues in her history in Federal Way, public records show.
Richardson relays Clary tip to Amundson
By early February 2022, Richland City Manager Jon Amundson learned that there might be a problem with Clary’s record in Federal Way.
At that point, the city had not announced a search to find Bruce’s replacement, and a decision on whether to promote Clary into the job was still two months away.
In a February 3, 2022, email to Richardson, Amundson asked for more information on what she’d heard about Federal Way from a tipster.
“I thought about our conversation during our 1-on-1 regarding Interim Chief Brigit Clary,” Amundson wrote. “Would it be helpful for me to have a direct conversation with the individual you spoke with to understand their concern regarding Clary? If I recall right, it sounded as though this person might have had some information regarding Brigit Clary’s departure from Federal Way. Does this person have direct knowledge, or are they sharing hearsay? I want to have a complete understanding before any selection process.”
Amundson added one factor weighing for Clary’s selection as a permanent chief: “As previously indicated, the current support from RPD officers is very strong and consistent with the overwhelming response we received on Facebook,” he wrote.
Asked about the email, Amundson wrote the Observer, “I attempted to follow-up with the individual who expressed concerns to Councilmember Richardson. That individual declined to be identified or to provide any actionable details.”
As for why he did not reach out to Federal Way directly, he wrote, “To the best of my knowledge, no public agency conducts new background investigations on existing employees for purposes of promotion. When someone promotes through the ranks, they promote based on proven performance. Brigit Clary promoted based on proven performance with RPD,” Amundson said.
But Lauren Bonds, Executive Director of the National Police Accountability Project in Metairie, Louisiana, agreed with Blaettler that any tip on a potential chief should be followed up on.
“Police leadership is unique. It entails different competencies, qualities, and skills than rank and file police work,” she wrote to the Observer when asked about the situation with Clary. “An investigation into a person’s performance in other leadership positions is crucial to know whether they are fit to lead and will handle their power appropriately.”
Blemishes on a police chief’s record can be used against them as leverage, either by bad cops trying to avoid being fired, unions seeking concessions or by civil rights attorneys seeking a larger financial settlement of a lawsuit.
In Oregon, for instance, a deputies’ union reportedly used a county sheriff’s record to try to get a fired deputy reinstated.
Richland decided not to do a nationwide search as it had done to hire Bruce. Nor did anyone at the city reach out to the King County District Attorney for Brady list records on Clary in response to the tipster, as the Observer did. Records were produced on Nov. 16, 15 days after the Observer made the request.
Instead, Amundson promoted Clary to police chief on April 18, 2022.
City Councilmembers were not informed of any problems.
Richardson did not respond to questions from the Observer about whether Amundson should have done more to check out the warning she had shared with him.
In emails, Lukson and Lemley said nobody told them about the questions concerning Clary’s history when she was promoted.
In emails to the Observer, they and Mayor Terry Christensen pointed out, that the city manager hires the police chief.
“The council was not involved in the vetting or hiring of any department head. We had one employee, Jon. This should serve as a classic lesson learned by everyone, trust the information, but verify when hiring anyone,” Lemley wrote the Observer.
State law now mandates extensive background checks
Now, Richland and local prosecutors are coping with questions of whether their failure to fully background Clary and disclose her record in court has tainted criminal convictions locally. According to the Herald, Benton County prosecutors have identified three cases that Clary had some involvement in.
Meanwhile, a new Washington law that took effect on July 23, 2023, now mandates extensive background checks for law enforcement officers to be certified by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center.
Under RCW 43.101.095, complaints or investigations of misconduct must be disclosed regardless of the result of the investigation or whether the complaint was unfounded. The law also requires that agencies check prosecutors’ offices to see if officers are on Brady lists.
“Recent changes in the law would have prevented the City from being in the position it currently finds itself,” Amundson told the Observer.
What’s next?
It’s unclear what happens next in Richland. Clary had told the city her official retirement date is Dec. 31, 2023.
Clary has been on leave, and Deputy Police Chief David Neher has been referred to as “acting police chief.”
According to LinkedIn, Neher joined the RPD in June 2021 after serving over six years with the Citrus Heights, California police department.
No plans for a search to replace her as chief have been announced, and the city has yet to advertise for the job.
Updated: 4 pm, Dec. 20, A statement from the King County Prosecutor’s Office about their Brady list was added.
Correction: Wyman Yip was Assistant Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor at the time he wrote the email. He is now a King County Superior Court judge.
So much corruption in little ol’ Richland, WA. I wish people were more careful with their City Council votes.
As a 37 year career, retired, Tri Cities police officer, I have had the opportunity to work hand in hand with my Brother & Sister RPD Officers for that entire length of time. I can tell you that the RpD rank and file officers and supervisors are nothing short of having the upmost integrity, dedication and professionalism of any police agency.
The real key to this situation comes down to hiring the right people for the job at the entry level and developing a culture of an organization from the ground up – to include promotions from within!
Having been involved in background investigations as an Investigator and Supervisor of Background Investigators for my agency I can tell you, from experience, if administrators will listen to their investigators they will be hiring a qualified candidate! Give them the time and tools to do their due diligence on every investigation.
The Richland City Manager is ultimately the decision maker on hiring the Chief of Police. He FAILED MISERABLY in his responsibility to the citizens of not only Richland but all of the other local agencies to make sure the leadership of the RPD was given to a honest, qualified and creditable candidate.
As a result the Richland City Council also has a responsibility to ensure the City Manager has the same integrity expected of the Richland Chief of Police. What will they do?
Hi Jack, I appreciate your comment. Thank you for providing your perspective as a former police officer. Richland now has three important positions to fill — chief of police, director of parks and also director of public works. It will be interesting to see how they handle those appointments. Thank you for reading the Observer. Randy
Interesting that Richland had no idea of Ms. Clary’s past. I, as a Chief Examiner in a smaller western WA county, received lateral applications from both John and Brigit in 2017. I though it odd that two Lts from Fed. Way would be applying for lateral deputy sheriff positions; it didn’t smell right. Others here thought it odd as well. It didn’t take long to find there was truly an opaque cloud at FWPD regarding these two. We didn’t pursue any investigation because they’d found employment in Richland (my hometown). I was surprised they were both hired so quickly. In looking thorough my 2017 records, their applications were dated within 10 days of her termination letter. We do poly and psych on all new hires, whether lateral or entry. You can see why.
Hi Lisa, Thank you for some additional background on the Clary case. I understand that new state laws require that any investigations, regardless of their status, be reported to the Washington Criminal Justice Training Center. Some experts that I spoke to about Richland’s 2017 investigation of Clary, said Richland could have asked her to give Federal Way permission to give them her records. Apparently, Richland didn’t do that. Thank for your reading the Observer. Randy