02/28/2006 
Hearing reinstates Deputy Constable Allison   
By: Howard Roden , Courier staff   

Precinct 3 Constable Tim Holifield hopes his department can move forward and "focus on providing quality law enforcement" after a civil service commission reinstated a deputy who accused her supervisor of sexual harassment and retaliation. 
Advertisement

 

The three-member panel ruled at the end of a seven-hour hearing Friday that Deputy Katie Allison was entitled to return to work after it discounted the results of a polygraph examination she failed last year. Her attorney, Bryan Cantrell, of Huntsville, revealed during the hearing that Allison has a medical condition that requires her to take medicine that may have unduly influenced the polygraph's outcome.
"The medicine creates changes in heart rate and breathing that can have an absolute impact on the (polygraph) readings," he said. "It caused the commission to suspect the quality of the polygraph examination."
Holifield terminated Allison Nov. 8 after he said investigations conducted by Montgomery County Attorney David Walker and the District Attorney's office failed to substantiate her claim that Sgt. Kevin Ray had made several verbal requests for sex and improperly touched her on two occasions in early 2005. She filed a formal complaint of retaliation against Ray on June 3, 2005, alleging he still had "ill feelings" toward her about the alleged incidents of sexual harassment.
Allison claimed those feelings were manifested in the form of a job evaluation she believed was unsatisfactory.
Holifield suspended Allison with pay on Oct. 25, 2005, because the investigations could not verify her claims, including the polygraph she failed. He said he was not aware of Allison's medical condition - or the possible effect of her medication - until Friday's hearing.
"Because of federal law, I was not able to ask questions about (Allison's) medical information," he said. "I was not aware of a mitigating factor that could affect the polygraph examination."
Holifield said the hearing showed him that, as a department head, he was in "less control of the personal lives and personal choices that impact the department as a whole. All we can do is leave the past in the past and focus on the future."
"I look forward to doing that," he said.
Holifield scheduled a meeting with Allison late Monday afternoon to discuss her return to duty and go over a new chain of command. He said her position had been held open pending the outcome of the civil service hearing.
"We're excited for her and we look forward to her return providing service to the citizens in Precinct 3," he said.
Meanwhile, Cantrell said Allison was "ecstatic" about regaining her position with the Constable's office. One of eight Precinct 3 deputies hired March 1, 2004, Allison declined comment Monday, saying it was against department policy for her to issue a statement. She referred comment to her attorney.
"Katie is a well-educated young lady, who is extremely marketable," Cantrell said. "But she is committed to serve the community as a peace officer."
The commission ruled Allison should receive $16,347.92 in back pay and benefits owed since her termination. Allison has been teaching psychology part-time at Montgomery College.
Walker said the commission's ruling is binding, but he contended Holifield made a "valid, appropriate employment decision" in terminating Allison.
"The commission changed that decision, and that's their right," Walker said. "It has wide latitude to make those decisions. They are not bound by a decision procedure or anything else that the employing authority has gone through. When she made her allegation, it was investigated by this department and by the district attorney's office. When Sgt. Ray passed a polygraph and she flunked it, those two facts, plus the inability of the internal investigation to corroborate the alleged witnesses she claimed, he made the right decision based on the evidence."
Back in November, Allison questioned how the polygraph examination was conducted and felt she had been "set up."
"The commissioners were suspect of the quality of the examination," Cantrell said. "Polygraphs are not a valid scientific tool. You can get more information in the interview than the actual readings."
Jackson suggested in November that Ray might sue Allison for slander. He said his client was "exonerated" by the investigations and that the commission's decision does not change that.
"If Mr. Ray comes to us about a civil suit, we would look at it," Jackson said. "The commission's job involved Ms. Allison's employment. It had a different way of looking at things. Mr. Ray is one of the upstanding, honest men you can find."
Holifield said Ray was still a member of his department.
"Am I embarrassed (about the entire incident)? Yes," Holifield said. "But I am very confident the 40-plus men and women of this department can overcome this difficult situation and be much the better for it."
Howard Roden can be reached at hroden@mail.hcnonlinet.net.