A former Clallam County sheriff’s deputy fired in 2005 after he was accused of having an extramarital affair while on duty had his law enforcement certification reinstated in Olympia.
The woman involved with the deputy was identified in court papers as a former Peninsula Daily News reporter.
Anthony Dwane Hayden, whose credential as a law officer was revoked by a state board last year, was recredentialed by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks at a hearing Friday.
The judge agreed with Hayden’s lawyer that a state Criminal Justice Training Commission disciplinary panel was wrong last October in ruling that Hayden — who had been fired by former Clallam County Sheriff Joe Martin — acted “under the color of authority as a peace officer” when he engaged in sexual activity with the woman while on duty.
Hayden’s firing was part of a wide-ranging 2005 investigation into alleged misconduct in the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department that received front-page coverage in the PDN.
However, at the time an internal Sheriff’s Department investigation by a hired consultant did not publicly identify the woman who was allegedly involved with Hayden.
Reporter resigned in 2004
Documents in Hicks’ court in Olympia said Hayden, then 37 and a six-year veteran of the department, had relations with Jan Rodak from October 2004 to January 2005.
Rodak, who was single, worked as a general news reporter for the Peninsula Daily News from June 9, 2003, until she voluntarily resigned effective Nov. 13, 2004.
She was assigned to the newspaper’s Sequim-Dungeness Valley office. Hicks’ court documents erroneously identified Rodak as a “criminal justice reporter” for the PDN.
PDN Executive Editor Rex Wilson said Wednesday he was unaware of any involvement by Rodak with Hayden at the time she worked at the PDN.
Hayden was a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy from March 1999 until his termination was effective Dec. 6, 2005.
Before that, he served in the Marine Corps, and was a Department of Defense security officer guarding nuclear facilities.
The revocation of Hayden’s law enforcement certification prevented him from working as a law enforcement officer in Washington state.
His attorney, Susan Rae Sampson of Renton, said that Hayden plans on resuming his law enforcement career.
Hayden appealed the training commission’s revocation to Thurston County Superior Court. Any case against a state agency can be heard in Thurston County because it is the seat of state government.
Hicks reversed the training commission’s decision after hearing arguments from both sides Friday.
Neither side in the appeal of the state disciplinary board’s ruling disputed that Hayden made regular early morning visits to Rodak’s Sequim residence in 2004 and in January 2005.
Instead, Sampson argued, the board erred in interpreting state law, because Hayden never failed “to perform a duty that was mandatory for a law enforcement officer.”
According to court documents filed in Hicks’ court, Hayden’s visits to Rodak’s home occurred two to five times per week and at times included consensual sexual activity.
While on duty, Hayden brought his portable patrol radio inside the residence and listened for calls.
Martin was defeated by current Sheriff Bill Benedict in the 2006 countywide election.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Benedict said he agreed with Hicks’ ruling, but said that Hayden — a onetime Employee of the Year — would not be returning to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department.
Benedict, who was a sheriff’s sergeant under Martin, said he was subpoenaed as a witness in Hayden’s revocation hearing in Burien last July.
He said he agreed with Hayden’s Clallam County firing — but said that the former deputy should not have had his law enforcement certification revoked, because his actions did not constitute a crime.
“He was not untruthful in the investigation,” Benedict said. “He admitted to what he did.”
‘Clearly some talent’
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reviewed the matter and determined that Hayden’s actions were not criminal, Benedict added.
“He clearly has some talent as a law enforcement officer,” Benedict said.
However, Benedict said Hayden would not be welcome back in the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department.
“As long as another agency knows what they are getting, there has to be room for redemption and rehabilitation,” Benedict said.
Hayden, who has a Montesano address, could not be reached for comment. His lawyer did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Alleged misconduct
Hayden was one of two officers who left the Clallam Sheriff’s Department during the 2005 investigation into alleged misconduct.
A third officer was reprimanded.
In addition, the undersheriff resigned shortly before the results of the investigation were made public.
An investigation by Jill Dinse, a Portland, Ore., lawyer hired by the Sheriff’s Department, focused on accusations against Hayden and Sgt. David Fontenot.
Hayden was fired following Dinse’s investigation of reports that he conducted the extramarital affair while working, including spending about 60 hours on his department cell phone talking to the woman.
The woman’s name was redacted in copies of Dinse’s report that were released to the public.
According to Dinse’s investigation, Hayden often visited the woman at her Sequim residence while wearing his uniform and once took her on patrol and had sexual relations at the department’s West End building.
Dinse also looked into accusations that Fontenot took a pair of antique aviator goggles seized during the search of a warehouse in January 2005 and then did not log the item into evidence.
She also investigated allegations that Fontenot intentionally falsified a date on a legal document and sexually harassed female co-workers.
Fontenot was placed on paid administrative leave on Sept. 16, 2005, and he resigned within days.
In addition, Undersheriff Steve Snover retired from the Sheriff’s Department after only six months in the No. 2 position.
Captain reprimanded
Capt. Ron Cameron was reprimanded by Martin for failing to punish Fontenot more severely after looking into the allegations originally.
In June 2005, Fontenot was accused of displaying inappropriate behavior and using crude language that amounted to sexual harassment, Dinse’s report said. No internal investigation was undertaken.
A female employee with the department brought another sexual harassment complaint against Fontenot in August.
Dinse agreed with a Port Angeles Police Department detective who originally investigated the complaint that Fontenot’s behavior was “at least inappropriate and unprofessional,” the report said.
Fontenot said he had used humor to motivate officers under his command and also to lighten the mood of an often-stressful job.
Regarding the accusation of taking the goggles, Fontenot admitted he made a mistake, which he called a “shortcut.”
But he said he was never given a chance to explain his actions — and that Dinse only asked him about allegations against Hayden, who was a deputy under his command.
He also said he did not have union representation at the time he quit and later attempted to rescind the resignation.
Cameron conducted an internal investigation in June 2005 into the accusation involving the goggles and the misdated document allegations and concluded that Fontenot had committed “policy violations.”
Fontenot received a 10-day suspension that was reduced to five days.
Dinse found that Cameron’s investigation bowed to perceived pressure from Snover, who the lawyer said was Fontenot’s friend.
In his letter of reprimand, Martin said Cameron was not suspected of dishonesty, but by not holding Fontenot more accountable he showed “a serious shortcoming, poor judgment and inappropriate deference to Snover.”
