May 1st 2018 – #Himtoo
Sandy Mayor Fires Police Chief for Giving Hugs? Or to cover up a real sexual scandal involving his buddy?
The last several days I’ve been trying to connect the dots on a case that has been troubling on my mind and heart. Years ago, after my gun and badge were taken for discrimination and my story was all over national news, I was a disaster. Of course, I was guilty, right? I was in the news, it had to be true!
Later, I met an incredible man named Chief Kevin Thacker of the Sandy City Police Department. 35 Years on the job. His reputation was always good. Not normal for a chief of police.
You could tell this guy was different than most chiefs I had ever met. He even told me he didn’t want the job as Chief at first, and definitely didn’t seek after it. A humble man. He was genuine and very concerned about my case. When I met him, he asked how my family was doing. He gave me comfort at the time. He asked questions that someone who actually cared about people would ask.
Well, I just read a story about how he was fired. I knew something was off after reading. Especially the way the Mayor was grandstanding the case. Not one, but three press conferences. Why three? Isn’t one enough?
Chief Thacker’s name was drug in the mud and all over the news for being some kind of sexual predator. The Mayor of Sandy, Kurt Bradburn said they need to give the people “Trasparency” and that’s why he was placed on leave weeks before he fired him. And that’s why the mayor needed to do the press shows, because of “transparency”. Ok. The Mayor said Thacker “engaged in inappropriate touching and unprofessional conduct with employees.”
What was the inappropriate conduct? What was the police chiefs crime?
Hugs…….(Very long pause) This isn’t a joke. Hugs. The man was fired for giving people hugs.
Now, this man’s 35 yr incredible career has come to this. People trying to equate him with the #metoo movement. No. No. And No. . https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46307345&nid=148
“By swiftly dealing with this issue, I hope we have upheld public trust and sent the message that this behavior won’t be tolerated by my administration,” The Mayor added.
However, nobody put in an official complaint about the case. What? That’s right. From what I am reading, nobody actually turned the chief in. Why? Because they were hugs. Many of the people in his office he hugged didn’t even want to testify at all. They loved him. Nobody had a real problem with it until the Mayor made a problem out of it.
But why would the Mayor do such a thing?
What I have recently discovered is that the Mayor, Kurt Bradburn, (oh ya the same guy who gave himself a 15K raise on the first day of being Mayor and was all over the news) failed to mention that his Chief City Admin Officer, Matthew Huish, actually had a formal sexual harassment open case against him.
He sent several “unprofessional” emails late in the evening to a female staffer. His text to her said..
“Of course! I ALWAYS have time for YOU! :-)” or “I’m not a man who is easily dissuaded, so expect to see me trying again soon! Haha” during a time when the two kept missing each other while trying to meet at work. Another said, “Hey Girl, (is that an HR violation?)”
Clearly Huish knew he was truly crossing lines. Why would he say “Is this an HR violation”?
Why didn’t the Mayor bring that little tid bit out in the name of transparency? Wouldn’t that have been an important side-note for everyone during one of the three press side-shows for the state to hear about destroying Thackers reputation? https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46311422&nid=148
A few questions…
Why, if transparency is such a big deal, did an actual sexual harassment claim and case just get a tiny headline today? Today? They have been investigating this for a while now. But AFTER Thacker was blasted in the news? And why, don’t we know the name of this city official in the KSL article? In fact, The heading says, “Sandy Administrator Cleared After Investigation.” Doesn’t say anything juicy about “sexual harassment” in his case. Like he did to Thacker. Shouldn’t we be consistent Mayor Bradburn in being transparent?
People of Sandy… It sounds like you need to start asking some tough questions. And it sounds like the Mayor is willing to destroy someone else’s life and reputation to possibly cover up a lot bigger problem with his buddies in office.
I can almost guarantee this Mayor will be in the news again, and it will be for a lot more than giving himself a 15K raise. Mark my words. I’m not for litigating as the go-to, but I hope Thacker lights the City of Sandy up with the biggest defamation case possible. They handled two cases that were supposedly the same, completely different. Dirty politics. But yet so clear to see. Time will only reveal more.
This is why politics will destroy lives. How many people can I throw under the bus to get to the top? This is why we need to elect moral and ethical leaders who know how to do the right thing, for the right reason. Sandy City, Wake Up.
Oh and.. I actually remember Thacker giving me a hug, and guess what, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. A man hug. I think we not only need more guys like Thacker in our world, but we need a lot more hugs, too.
This article below needs to read, “Sandy has second sexual-harassment that was actually the first and only.”
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/05/01/sandy-has-a-second-sexual-harassment-investigation-of-a-city-official-staff-chief-is-cleared/
