Report: Former Amherst police chief was insubordinate, disrespectful

AMHERST — Accusations of insubordination against former police Chief Joseph Kucirek riddle a 19-page report released by city officials after a public records request. Kucirek retired Monday, 11 weeks into an investigation over low morale at the Amherst Police Department. It wasn't a friendly parting of ways. Kucirek blasted Mayor Mark Costilow on the way out, saying the city used false or exaggerated allegations to force him into an early retirement. The report from Safety Service Director John Jeffreys paints an entirely different picture, however — one in which Kucirek ignored orders and deadlines, did not cooperate with other employees, violated standards of conduct and appears to have allegedly broken labor laws. It came with 83 pages of supporting exhibits. They detail frustrations vented by officers and documented by an independent consultant, complaints from residents, memos, emails and communications from Kucirek himself. Strife over low morale dates back to at least September 2019, when the wives of three officers approached Costilow with concerns about their husbands' safety and mental well-being. Costilow asked Kucirek to look into the issue. "During this discussion with the mayor, you were more concerned with who the wives were and what evidence they provided to back up their accusations than you were looking into low morale," Jeffreys told Kucirek in the report. "You denied repeatedly that there was a morale problem." The report said the chief laid the problems at the feet of "a few troublemakers at the station" and said "it was not acceptable for the mayor to be listening to wives of officers and sergeants." Around the same time, there was grumbling within the department about Kucirek taking time to make decisions about requests to change the kind of vests officers wear and a switch to 12-hour shifts. There also were rumors several officers were unhappy with Kucirek's management and had applied for positions at the Lorain Police Department. When these issues were brought up, Kucirek was reportedly disrespectful. "You often told the mayor that he is not a police officer, that the mayor does not understand how police departments work and that he should stay out of his (police department) business," Jeffreys wrote. Instead of finding ways to improve morale, he said Kucirek searched for ways to stop Lorain from recruiting Amherst officers and even suggested pressing charges against the neighboring city for allegedly violating civil service rules. Ordered to improve Kucirek was directed to appear at the mayor's office April 15 for a meeting on morale, where he was "uncooperative and insubordinate," according to Jeffreys. Four officers already had resigned and there were rumors more would follow, the report said. Kucirek was given a list of 12 imperatives to improve morale and retain workers, but the report said he was not receptive. "If you continue to give in and give them what they want, they will always want more," Kucirek reportedly said. "It never ends." That's when Costilow directed the safety service director to find an outside consultant who could evaluate the situation at the police department. Jeffreys put forward LeBrun Management Solutions, which he described as impartial and without any prior knowledge of the city of Amherst. Disciplinary issues Disagreements also rose in the spring over several disciplinary measures that were deemed to be taking too long. One involved an alleged workplace violation by Officer Eric Layfield stemming from an incident in January. It was not resolved by May, and Kucirek allegedly sought to send Layfield a letter telling him he could be removed from his assignment patrolling the Amherst Schools. Costilow believed doing so just before Layfield, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, was to go on extended military leave could be considered a Department of Labor violation. He ordered Kucirek not to send the letter. That stance was backed up by the city's labor attorney, Ryan Gembala. Kucirek didn't send the letter to Layfield. According to Jeffreys' report, the chief instead sent a shorter one that was very similar and contained the same information that had first raised flags. And it wasn't sent only to Layfield, but to the entire police department, Jeffreys said. "Anyone exercising common sense, especially a chief, should realize that is not something that should be sent to the entire department," he wrote. Jeffreys also said Kucirek went behind the mayor's back and tried to convince Gembala it was acceptable to send the letter without Costilow's knowledge. That broke Costilow's trust in Kucirek and damaged their working relationship, Jeffreys said. "The mayor now has to worry that every time he gives you an order, you will be looking for ways to get around the order," he said. Other complaints There was more friction over filling a vacant position for officer-in-charge — a designated leader when other members of the command staff were not on duty. The space opened in February 2019 and the job wasn't filled for more than eight months despite the urging of Lt. Mark Cawthon. In May 2021, Costilow became aware three of the police department's four officer-in-charge positions were vacant and had been for more than a year, leading to excessive overtime. He ordered them to be filled by June 4. Jeffreys' report called leaving the positions open so long "incompetent, inefficient and a gross neglect of duty." Kucirek showed an inability to follow up and complete important tasks in a reasonable amount of time necessary for the effective operation of the department, Jeffreys said. "You consistently lay roadblocks in front of your subordinates, making it difficult for them to complete other simple tasks," he said. Kucirek also was called out for reportedly ridiculing his employees in public settings or in front of other workers. For example, he allegedly called Patrolman Jason Nahm "mediocre" in a group meeting, leading Sgt. Jacob Perez's platoon to question the chief for three hours. During that meeting, which was recorded, Jeffreys said Kucirek took potshots at several other current and former police officers and said he would "find a way to get rid of" anyone he perceived as causing problems. In a couple of instances, Kucirek was asked whether he obeyed a COVID-19 mask mandate inside the police station while it was in place. He said he'd never violated the policy, but five officers testified that wasn't the case, which led Jeffreys to call the chief's honesty into question. Other accusations put the city in a precarious legal position, according to the report. Jeffreys said Kucirek demonstrated "a pattern of failures to comply with federal and state laws" with regard to labor. One situation involved retaliation against an officer who filed a grievance. Perez had been set to receive a new patrol vehicle, but it was suddenly taken from him, Jeffreys wrote. The report also cited an August 2020 incident in which Kucirek allegedly railed against an arbitrator who ruled in favor of another officer, Patrolman Bob Lane, who filed a grievance. The chief allegedly then sent an email that Jeffreys said appeared to retaliate against Lane. On another occasion, Kucirek reportedly told an officer he didn't "give a s--- about" the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which affords workplace protections to police and dispatchers. In another complaint, Kucirek reportedly asked a dispatcher, who was seeking a promotion, a set of questions about how she could arrange child care for her baby, what her husband's job and military obligations were and whether she was planning to have more children. All were "wholly improper" questions in light of federal and state anti-discrimination laws, the report said. That dispatcher didn't get the promotion. The LeBrun assessment LeBrun Management Solutions conducted 26 in-person interviews and 16 phone interviews with current and past employees who largely pegged Kucirek as the root of stress and low morale. Those "climate assessment" results outlined dysfunction within the department, including staffing shortages, lack of trust, lack of appreciation, poor communication with the chief, "petty" issues that led to discipline, and that employees felt they were constantly under surveillance. Several employees told LeBrun, "We are trusted with a gun on our hip, but we are not trusted inside our own building or while patrolling." Kucirek was called to a June 22 meeting to discuss the results of the assessment with Costilow and Cindy LeBrun, owner of the consulting firm. "You were uncooperative and unproductive during most of the three-hour meeting," Jeffreys wrote to Kucirek. He accused Kucirek of being more concerned with which employee said what and who performed the assessment than the actual results. Meanwhile, the report said the police chief told story after story about how bad some employees were and blamed lieutenants. "You showed no interest in improving morale," Jeffreys concluded. In an emailed message this week, Kucirek said the LeBrun assessment inaccurately claimed he showed a lack of appreciation and positive recognition for his employees. He provided screen captures of a large number of emails sent between 2014 and 2021 in which he praised staff for work well done. Among them were words of thanks for contributors to the 2020 annual report, praise for Sgt. Mike Rosebeck and Patrolman Brian Griffin for saving a woman from a burning building, many short "nice job" shoutouts, messages informing staff of lunches and other donations made to department employees by local businesses and nonprofits, and thank-yous to officers who followed up on issues. Several of the emails passed along compliments from the public about the way officers handled incidents. "The below emails may also contain other evidence refuting climate assessment claims such as not listening to the staff, not empowering the staff, the chief's way or the highway, and lack of trust, just to name a few," Kucirek wrote. He also accused LeBrun of failing to fact-check statements made by Amherst Police Department employees about him. "Had the assessor fact-checked, verified, or corroborated many of the negative comments she wrote in the final climate assessment report, or simply had the follow-up interview with the chief's office to 'fill in the gaps' as she said she was going to do before any report was written and given to the mayor, a lot of these inaccurate and erroneous comments could have been clarified or context added," he said. His attorney, Jonathan Rosenbaum, provided further texts sent by Kucirek to Amherst officers. Among them were messages thanking Lane for 45 years of service, compliments on reports and ceremonial duties, questions about officers' families and special occasions, holiday wishes and information about COVID-19 shots. Placed on leave A month after the meeting with LeBrun and Costilow, Kucirek was placed on paid administrative leave "while a fact finding of your neglected duties as chief" was conducted, according to Jeffreys. The chief was barred from visiting the North Lake Street police station or contacting workers. That didn't stop more issues from coming to light. After The Chronicle-Telegram reported Kucirek had been put on leave, Costilow's office received several emails and calls about the chief's interactions with the public. One involved a personal legal dispute with a neighbor over homeowners association dues that resulted in an out-of-court settlement. "Ending up in court against your community where you live, over a dispute over HOA dues, is not behavior the police chief should consider honorable," Jeffreys wrote. He specified that the court case wasn't his cause for concern, but Kucirek's interaction with the HOA representative was. After receiving a dues reminder in March 2020, Kucirek allegedly responded with an email that warned the HOA rep to "Tread lightly, and pick your battles" — not the kind of email a public official should be sending a neighbor, Jeffreys said. Another issue rose when pastor Alex VanCuran, of Faith Baptist Church, asked police not to use the church parking lot. Kucirek sent a long email attempting to justify why his officers were on the private property across the street from the station and providing statistics about how often they were there in marked cars. He said Amherst police were directed not to work inside the station due to COVID-19 and that their presence at the church could deter criminal behavior. "I can only hope that your parishioners are aware of your request to not have a police presence around your church," Kucirek wrote to VanCuran. "If so, please share with them that the Amherst Police Department will always be there for them, even if their pastor does not want us on the FBC property." Jeffreys labeled that response as disrespectful and said it did not project a good image of the chief or police department. Such responses "severely damage the city's image and the public's trust," he wrote. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.