Sexual Harassment Investigation Targets Turner
“This is a political lynching and the ones doing it, they ain’t wearing white hoods. They got black ones, if you know what I mean.”
That was Warren Turner, from an interview with PunditHouse a few days after he was outed as the councilmember at the center of a sexual harassment allegation brought by a female city staffer and the city council’s decision to hire an attorney to investigate the matter.
Turner, a black Democrat, didn’t say specifically what he meant by a black-hooded, political lynch mob, but it’s interesting to note that Mayor Anthony Foxx, whose cryptic e-mail sent to councilmembers in March warning them not to sexually harass staff ignited a firestorm of controversy, and Councilmember Michael Barnes, who first called for an investigation into the sexual harassment issue, are both black and have both butted heads politically with Turner in the past when he broke rank with his Democrat colleagues.
Turner’s allegations of a “political lynching” aren’t likely to be tempered anytime soon, after Monday’s report from the attorney hired by the city to investigate the sexual harassment issue. That attorney, Valecia McDowell of the law firm Moore & Van Allen, contributed $2,500 last year to Foxx’s mayoral campaign.
McDowell’s investigation lasted about a month, during which time 18 people were interviewed, and will cost the city about $35,000. The report indicates that four city employees have made sexual harassment complaints against Turner since 2006, and suggests that Turner was “involuntarily terminated” from the Charlotte Police Academy in 1988 and that a female cadet had said Turner at that time had repeatedly made sexually inappropriate comments to her and physically threatened her.
Turner told investigators that he had resigned from the Police Department prior to graduating from the academy because the department was, “considering disciplinary action against him related to a ticket he had received for an expired automobile registration and because he had physically threatened a female cadet,” according to the report. Turner admitted that, 22 years ago, he had threatened to physically harm the female cadet, but denied ever making sexually inappropriate comments during his time at the Police Academy.
Turner, who has been on council since 2003 and is employed as a state probation officer, has consistently denied making sexually inappropriate or harassing comments toward any city staffer. He did not offer an immediate response to McDowell’s report Monday night, but said one would be forthcoming.
“We will be responding to each and every one of these allegations and some of the inconsistencies in the report,” Turner said, flanked by two attorneys he has retained since being identified as the councilmember at the center of the sexual harassment investigation.
“If these allegations are true, they are not acceptable behavior for any elected official in this city,” Foxx said Monday night.
But it’s uncertain what action the council will, or even can take in response to the report and its accompanying allegations. The city’s policy against sexual harassment doesn’t apply to elected officials, which would make it difficult for Turner to be removed from office or even suspended. The council, however, could censure Turner, a possibility that was referenced Monday night. The council on Monday night also agreed to start a process of revamping the city’s sexual harassment policy, to include provisions for elected officials.
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