By Betsy Finklea
Crystal Moore confirms to The Dillon Herald that she was terminated tonight (Thursday) as Latta Police Chief.
Town Administrator Jarett Taylor said, “Crystal Moore was released tonight by Latta. The council and I stand by our reprimand, and I think it speaks for itself.”
When asked by The Herald on Friday if and how council voted on the matter, Taylor responded, “Council was present and informed before any action was taken. There was no formal vote, but no one had any objections.”
Moore said, “I am shocked and angered especially in light of my cancer diagnosis and the struggle that it has put me and my family through. But this won’t stop me from serving the people of Latta or Dillon County. Justice will prevail.”
Moore has been in law enforcement for more than 20 years. She is currently a petition candidate for Dillon County Sheriff.
Taylor said that Derrick Cartwright will serve as interim chief.
STATEMENT ISSUED BY CRYSTAL MOORE’ S ATTORNEY
M. Malissa Burnette, Esq., Callison Tighe & Robinson, LLC
The real issue underlying the termination of Chief Moore is that Jarett Taylor needed to divert attention from the fact that he failed to adhere to law and policy when a young female employee reported that a department head under Taylor’s supervision was sexually harassing her. Taylor did not conduct an immediate investigation or take appropriate action as required by law and policy, but instead protected the man, and the sexual harassment continued.
The young woman finally came to Chief Moore on August 12 and asked to file a criminal report against the perpetrator. Since the perpetrator was a Town employee and Moore was related to him by marriage, she properly (to avoid an appearance of conflict of interest) had a County Deputy called to take the report. While the young lady was present, Chief Moore tried twice to call Taylor, to whom she reports, but he did not answer his phone and his voice mail was full. When the deputy arrived, she texted Taylor to tell him a deputy was at town hall to take a sexual harassment report from a town employee. (I have the text message)
Taylor did not respond to the text until August 13 and asked for details. Chief Moore responded, including saying that the young woman had said she had already reported the sexual harassment to Taylor but it had continued. (I have the text messages)
We believe that the Mayor Pro Tempore, Brian Mason, also had direct knowledge of the sexual harassment complaint through communications with the young woman or her relatives. He took no steps to investigate or take any appropriate action.
Taylor retaliated against Chief Moore for her assisting the victim of sexual harassment by issuing a written reprimand to which he attached a one-page narrative misstating the facts and implying that he had no prior knowledge of the sexual harassment of the young woman. On August 20, Taylor asked Chief Moore to write a statement that the perpetrator had no “ill intent” with his actions. Chief Moore declined. (I have the text messages.) Taylor retaliated on August 22, further deflecting attention from his own failure to properly handle the sexual harassment matter. He issued three more reprimands and suspended Chief Moore.
Interestingly, all Town employees, including those who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, were ordered on August 15th to begin clocking in and out.
Chief Moore was properly performing her duties by assisting the young woman in protecting her right to be from sexual harassment in the workplace. She had a responsibility to act immediately, which she did. She also took immediate measures to report the matter to Taylor, who then apparently realized his own failure to follow law and procedure would be revealed. (SLED is now investigating the woman’s complaint and the perpetrator apparently is no longer employed by the Town.) Taylor’s reaction was to quickly issue a series of write-ups and suspend Chief Moore to put the spotlight on her. Such retaliation is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
I put the Council on notice on September 7 of the above facts and that Chief Moore had participated in an activity protected by law and was not to be retaliated against. I further noted that I was evaluating the potential liability of individuals who would intentionally inflict emotional distress or defame her just days before Chief Moore underwent chemotherapy for treatment of cancer.
The Town fired Chief Moore on September 8th, apparently in executive session. We are not aware of a public vote being taken.
Further, I placed the Town on notice of a litigation hold, stating that all documents, electronic devices (including personal), social media postings, and information was to be preserved, and that any deletion, alteration, manipulation, destruction or concealment would result in spoliation of evidence.
I understand that Mr. Taylor has since deleted his FaceBook account.
The bottom line is this: it’s not about the write-ups. They are pretextual and would not have been created but for Taylor’s (and perhaps Mason’s and the Council’s) desire to retaliate against Chief Moore for helping the victim of sexual harassment, which would inevitably lead to evidence of wrongdoing at the highest levels of Town governance.
STATEMENT FROM JARETT TAYLOR,
TOWN OF LATTA ADMINISTRATOR
After reading statements released by the media from Mrs. Moore’s representative, I am upset at her allegations and want to clarify the town actions discussed in her letter.
I am not sure where these alleged statements are generated from but town files are kept private unless there was, in fact, a deeper breach of personnel files by Mrs. Moore than previously thought and this will be further looked into. The town will stand by the right to keep all information regarding this purported harassment issue private, but we maintain that the issue has been handled to the best of our ability and in accordance with town policy.
On August 13, 2016, myself and two other council members presented Mrs. Moore a reprimand related to Policy #1-3, page 9 that states: Any employee who feels he or she has been sexually harassed should immediately report the incident to his or her supervisor. Should the employee feel they cannot discuss this problem with their supervisor, they should report the incident to their department head, or the Mayor or the designee. Any supervisor who receives a complaint of sexual harassment should immediately report it to the department head, or the Mayor or the designee.
Video surveillance footage of town hall shows Mrs. Moore’s account of events. There was over an hour delay in attempting to notify any supervisor. Mrs. Moore had the possibility to contact two immediate council members as supervisors or an assistant administrator (council member) in the absence of my ability to be reached.
No other attempts were made to contact the first three members of council due to my unavailability.
Members of council thought it to be inappropriate to wait so long when town policy dictates immediately.
Mrs. Moore’s representative also make a claim that, “Later on August 13, Taylor asked Chief Moore to write a statement that the perpetrator had no “ill intent” with his actions. Chief Moore declined. (I have the text messages) Taylor then retaliated by issuing a written reprimand to which he attached a one-page narrative misstating the facts and implying that he had no prior knowledge of the sexual harassment of the young woman.”
I have provided WBTW with a copy of that entire text message. The text message in question from me states, “Hey, I was tired last night and I apologize for being as drained as I was. I think I recall last night that you said that you didn’t think (an employee name) had any ill intent with his actions. Can you write a statement to the fact of what you saw and how you felt about the interaction? Thanks.” Mrs. Moore responded six minutes later, “No, I said I have never seen anything. All I have heard was he said, she said stuff. I never have witness anything personally.” I respond with, “I see thanks.” This text clearly show a date of August 20, 2016 at 1:16 p.m. This text came seven days after the initial reprimand given to Mrs. Moore dealing with the harassment issue. Each employee that claimed to know something was asked to give a written statement as the town investigated those allegations. The above text was my contact with Mrs. Moore for her statement. Mrs. Moore’s representative stated above her lack of response is what generated the first reprimand. In fact, Mrs. Moore clearly responded and gave a statement.
The above incident was the only incident that directly involved any employee harassment.
Mrs. Moore has received a reprimand for lack of police maintenance records because there have been an increase in repairs, a reprimand for going into an employee file which is unrelated to the police department and looking at unauthorized information, a reprimand for discussing a departing employee’s salary at another job during an open council meeting, and the latest termination reprimand that I feel speaks for itself.
Mrs. Moore’s continued insistence that she did no wrong, coupled with her contribution to the depletion of employee morale forced the council to make the decision that was made.
Our continued thoughts and well wishes are with Mrs. Moore in her future endeavors, but we feel like we must do what is best for the citizens of Latta and the current employees of Latta.
Respectfully,
Jarett Taylor
THE LETTER sent by M. Malissa Burnette, Esq., Callison Tighe & Robinson, LLC, To Jarett Taylor, Town Administrator
The following letter was sent by Crystal Moore’s attorney M. Makissa Burnette, Esq.on Monday, September 12 to Town Administrator Jarett Taylor and copied to Crystal Moore and the Latta Town Council.
September 12, 2016
Jarrett Taylor
Administrator
Town of Latta, South Carolina
RE: Police Chief Crystal Moore v.
Town of Latta, SC, et al.
Dear Mr. Taylor:
On September 8, 2016, following a Town Council meeting, you presented Chief Moore a statement signed by you, as Town Administrator, below the inscription “The Latta Town Council” which purports to terminate Chief Moore from her position with the Town. This event came as a surprise, given that you told the New York Times on September 2nd that the Town and Chief Moore were back on good terms after she served her suspension. The only intervening event between September 2 and the meeting on September 8 was my letter of September 7 advising the Council of Chief Moore’s legal rights and requesting that no further retaliation be inflicted upon her. Apparently, the letter caused you and the council to do exactly as I cautioned you to avoid.
I have learned over the weekend that Council failed to vote in open session on September 8 to terminate Chief Moore’s employment. Therefore, Crystal Moore still holds the position of Chief of Police of Latta, South Carolina. As you know, the law prohibits public bodies from taking any action in executive session except to (a) adjourn or (b) return to public session. The members of a public body may not even be polled or take an informal vote regarding a course of action while in executive session. S.C. Code Ann. 30-4-70(b). All decisions must be made by public vote, and the vote of all individual members must be recorded in the minutes.
As courtesy to the Town, and to ensure orderly transition, I did not suggest that Chief Moore return to work unannounced. Therefore, I am writing to notify you that she is, and has been, ready and able to return to work. We will expect her full pay and benefits to continue as though she has been on leave with pay. She was involuntarily ordered not to come to work, so there should be no deduction from her accrued annual or sick leave. Please advise when you want her to return to work.
Please respond at your earliest convenience to me or directly to Chief Moore. We look forward to hearing from you.
With best regards,
Sincerely,
M. Malissa Burnette
CC: Chief Crystal Moore, Town Council Members
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Herald contacted Town Administrator Jarette Taylor for comment on this letter, but he had no comment at this time.
The following is a letter written to Crystal Moore’s attorney regarding her letter from Latta Town Attorney Janet Byrd.
Moore was terminated from the Town of Latta recently as Latta Police Chief
September 13, 2016
To: M. Malissa Burnette
Callison, Tighe & Robinson,
LLC
Post Office Box 1390
Columbia, SC 29202
RE: Your client: Crystal
Moore
My client: Town of Latta
Dear Ms. Burnette:
In response to your letter dated September 12, 2016, no vote of Town Council is required to terminate Chief Moore. As Town Administrator, Mr. Taylor has sole authority to terminate Chief Moore. This is why only his signature was on Chief Moore’s letter of termination. No vote was taken or needed either in or out of executive session on September 8, 2016. On August 18, 2016, a special emergency public meeting was held by council at which the termination of Mrs. Moore was discussed and approved by council at an open meeting without any formal vote. This is in accordance with Town ordinance 2.08.060. A decision was thereafter made by Mr. Taylor to attempt a suspension to see if things improved thereafter. Following the suspension, Mrs. Moore’s attitude did not improve and Mr. Taylor learned of additional morale issues occurring in the police department. The typed portion under Mr. Taylor’s signature simply identified him as a member of the Town Council.
Let me assure you that despite their minimal pay for the service they provide, our council is well aware of the policies and procedures of our Town. We do not need third parties from out of Town instructing us how to operate. Further, as you should be aware, South Carolina is an employment at will state. Therefore, employment is maintained only at the will of the employer. Thus, Mrs. Moore’s termination stands.
Further, I have reviewed your September 8, 2016, letter to the Town. It was quite an interesting letter full of demands and vague threats. Seldom in my 23 years of practicing law have I seen such a demanding and threatening letter sent by a member of the SC Bar Association. I found it to be very disturbing in both its tone and implications. It did nothing but antagonize the already precarious situation of Mrs. Moore.
Let me clarify for you since you seem to be confused, Mrs. Moore was not fired in retaliation. Chief Moore had a series of written reprimands in her file. Only one reprimand has any connection whatsoever to the alleged sexual harassment on an employee. Mrs. Moore was not reprimanded for taking the report or for calling a deputy to do an incident report. She was reprimanded for failing to report the incident to her superiors in excess of an hour. Mrs. Moore had several people she could have contacted to report the incident. Our Town Councilmen are paid $600 a year for their tremendous service to the Town. They are truly public servants. As a result, they do not support their families on their annual salary as a councilman. They hold full time jobs to feed their families and pay their bills. If one supervisor is unavailable, the next should be contacted. The fact that Mr. Taylor was unavailable for a phone call from Mrs. Moore on a Friday evening did not relieve Mrs. Moore of her responsibility to notify a supervisor of the report. Her responsibility was to call one of the three remaining persons in the chain of command. None of them received a phone call that evening from Mrs. Moore. As you are aware, Mr. Taylor was one of Mrs. Moore’s biggest supporters when he believed she was being fired due to her sexual orientation. Since she is now unable to threaten suit against the town on that basis, it appears someone has concocted a claim of retaliation as a basis of filing suit. As shocking as it might seem, people are sometimes fired because they are failing to do their job properly and follow written procedure for that job.
If Mrs. Moore cares for the citizens of Latta as much as she claims, I feel certain she will withdraw these baseless attempts at suing her hometown. It is the citizens of the Town who ultimately pay for these suits through increased taxes. Latta is a lovely small town. Most people who live here do so because we love living in a small town. We love our neighbors. We do not threaten others with lawsuits every time something does not work out the way we want. We like a slower paced life and wish to avoid constant turmoil. We enjoy walking down the street and seeing our friends and family.
Mrs. Moore has served the Town for numerous years. Her prior service is appreciated. Her service, however, is no longer needed. We wish her the best in her future endeavors. We are hopeful those endeavors do not include dragging the Town and its citizens through a senseless lawsuit at all the citizens’ expense.
With kind regards, I am
Very truly yours,
Janet Altman Byrd
Town of Latta Attorney
cc: Town of Latta Council
When asked by The Herald for a response to Mrs. Byrd’s letter, Ms. Burnette said, “It is a lovely public relations piece, but it does not improve the Town’s legal position. I regret we will be forced to resort to formal proceedings.”
