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Inquiry clears 3 police officers
By AMY HERDY, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- The case rocked Internal Affairs and sent waves of speculation through the Tampa Police Department. A female sergeant within the historically tightknit unit had fired off a 49-page complaint to Chief Bennie Holder alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Among the allegations: One co-worker kept a sex toy at his desk, wrote Sgt. Jenny Terrell, and others persisted in calling her nicknames, including "cupcake" and "the Easter Bunny." Her fellow sergeants questioned her lack of experience, hindered her investigations and regularly humiliated her while the supervisor did nothing, she said. "Since coming to Internal Affairs, "I have been the victim of malicious attacks, both personally and professionally," Terrell said in a letter she sent to Holder in March 2001. Terrell, who has a side business as an interior decorator, did work on Holder's home several years ago. But she does not think that influenced his decision to promote her in 1998. But Terrell said many of the unit's members clearly were irritated at not getting to vote on her appointment, which was the usual custom in Internal Affairs. "I was shoved down their throats," Terrell said. TPD records released this week show that the officers in question, Capt. Jake Slater, Sgt. Andrew Stertzer and Sgt. Dan Grossi, have been cleared of Terrell's allegations. The decision follows one of the most expensive (more than $10,000 in estimated costs) and lengthy (four large volumes) internal investigations in the department's history. The fallout has been considerable. During the investigation, Stertzer, Terrell and Slater, who all had impeccable records, were transferred out of Internal Affairs. Grossi retired, ending a noteworthy 20-year career under a cloud. Terrell is angry and embarrassed by what she calls a "one-sided, biased summary" that dismisses her complaints as unwarranted. Once she realized she was not wanted in the unit, she said, "I should have just sucked it up and walked away. I regret that I shot the flare in the air." Holder, meanwhile, is angry at those who question why he chose Terrell, a street officer with little investigative experience, for the high-profile position in Internal Affairs. He believes the rumbles stem from political enemies with a racist agenda. "I'm not going to address rumors," he said. "If I want to have work done in my house and pay fair market value for it, that's nobody's business. I've had it up to here," Holder said, gesturing to the top of his head, "with these bigots trying to dethrone me. They haven't been successful yet, and they won't be." Both Holder and Terrell declined to discuss details of her decorating his home. "It happened years ago," Terrell said. Her problems at TPD began in 1998, when Terrell asked Holder if she could join the unit, and he agreed. One reason he put Terrell in Internal Affairs, Holder said, is that she made the point of asking. "I don't get a lot of requests from officers to go to IA," he said. "A lot of them don't have the stomach for it." As for her not having an investigative background, Holder said, "I'm the dog and I wag the tail. I decide who goes where. That's been one of my goals, to break up cliques and the good 'ol boy environment. If anyone has a problem with it, they could have come to me." If Terrell lacked experience, Holder said, "That's what training is for." But Terrell had problems with her co-workers from the beginning. And when Slater issued her a letter of counseling in February 2001 for being "disrespectful, insolent and abusive," she countered with her own letter to Holder. Along with the letter, Terrell sent 29 pages of documentation under the titles, "Sexual Harassment Incidents" or "Hostile Work Environment Incidents." Sarah Lang, director of administration for the City of Tampa, said the allegations appeared serious, and Holder had no choice but to order an investigation. Terrell obviously felt she had been wronged, Lang said, but her charges did not hold up under scrutiny. "My conclusion was that her perception was not based in fact," she said. For example, the sex toy Terrell accused Sgt. Stertzer of keeping at his desk was not a sex toy at all, Lang said, but merely "a little plastic novelty thing" that had been left in IA from another investigation and was kept as a joke. Capt. Slater issued Stertzer a letter of counseling for keeping the item, she noted. The other officers involved say they are just relieved the ordeal is over. Grossi, who retired in August 2001, is now working as a private investigator. While he had a great career at TPD, he said, "It's sad to leave on that note." Stertzer, who now manages off-duty schedules for TPD, said he bears no ill will. Slater, who is now in the department's community affairs office, called the entire situation "unfortunate." The chief did what he had to do, Slater said, because Internal Affairs, more than any other unit, must be cohesive. But if you read all the accusations, he said, "There is nothing there. And who did it cost? It cost the taxpayers." - Amy Herdy can be reached at 226-3386 or herdy@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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