Benton County denies hearing on jail grievance

 Kelley Cradduck is shown in this photo.
Kelley Cradduck is shown in this photo.

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials decided Friday there will not be a hearing on complaints made by a jail employee against Sheriff Kelley Cradduck.

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Lt. Robin Holt is shown in this photo.

Lt. Robin Holt filed a grievance earlier this week against Cradduck claiming he has retaliated against and threatened her and other employees who cooperated with a Arkansas State Police investigation of the sheriff. Holt filed the grievance with the county through her attorney on Tuesday. The grievance claims Cradduck has "created a hostile work environment" and his actions were in violation of the Arkansas Whistle-Blower Act.

Grievance Council

Benton County’s Grievance Council is made up of five justices of the peace appointed by the county judge. Council members are Michelle Chiocco, Joel Jones, Shirley Sandlin, Susan Anglin and Kurt Moore. The council considers claims of illegal discrimination or that the county acted in an arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable manner; claims that any employee treatment is unconstitutional punishment due to the employee exercising a constitutionally protected right; and claims that any employee treatment, discipline or dismissal is contrary to the public policy of Arkansas.

Source: Staff report

George Spence, county attorney, sent a letter Friday to Don and Susan Kendall, attorneys for Holt, informing them of the decision not to hold a hearing. Spence said the decentralized nature of county government in Arkansas, where the authority of the Quorum Court is largely limited to budget issues, makes the Grievance Council an advisory body and leaves elected officials "not subject to any authority other than the voters at the biennial elections."

Spence said Holt's complaints were "troubling" and might be addressed by private employers and in some governmental contexts.

"However, in those situations, the employer would have the ability to punish an offending supervisor which, as I indicated, I think the Grievance Council and Quorum Court are unable to do," Spence said.

Holt and Capt. Jeremy Guyll filed grievances with the county in October after they were demoted by Cradduck. Guyll and Holt said they were demoted after they cooperated with an State Police investigation. Police have confirmed they are investigating allegations Cradduck ordered payroll records for Gabriel Cox altered to show an earlier hire date. Cradduck has denied he ordered the records to be falsified.

Cox was fired recently after he was arrested by Rogers police on misdemeanor drug charges.

Jason Barrett, a special prosecutor named to oversee the investigation, declined to comment on the investigation Wednesday.

The Grievance Council recommended Guyll and Holt be reinstated after hearing their complaints in November. Cradduck didn't attend or participate in the hearings. He reinstated Holt and Guyll.

Cradduck said Friday, as he has before, that the grievances are politically motivated.

"I reinstated them to show solidarity between the Sheriff's Office and the Quorum Court, even though I disagreed with their decision," Cradduck said.

Cradduck said the latest complaint mischaracterizes what happened at a recent meeting he had with the jail staff, including Holt. Cradduck said he told Holt she had the type of personality that can bring the people working in the jail together and asked for her help in doing that.

"I have treated them with respect and dignity," he said. "This is a very petty issue and I'm so taken aback by the complaint because all I did was compliment her. Hopefully people will see this for what it is -- dirty politics -- and we can get back to the business of keeping Benton County safe."

Don Kendall said Friday he wasn't surprised by the decision not to hold a hearing on the grievance. He said he will consider other options Holt may have, but couldn't say what those options might be.

"It's not surprising because of the fact, fortunate or unfortunate, that the Quorum Court has no control over the sheriff," Kendall said.

Michelle Chiocco, head of the Grievance Council, said the council was unable to act due to the nature of Holt's complaints in the second grievance. In the first instance, Chiocco said, Holt and Guyll showed concrete evidence of loss through their demotions. Holt's second complaint, she said, is more subjective.

"There's been no real adverse reaction to her job, per se," Chiocco said. "She hasn't been fired or demoted or anything similar to that, so we're very limited in what we can do. We can say, 'Sheriff be nice.' but that's about all we can do."

NW News on 01/16/2016

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