MEMORANDUM

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY CLIENT COMMUNICATION

NOT SUBJECT TO FOIA DISCLOSURE

To: Mark Heydlauff and City Council for the City of Charlevoix
From: Scott Howard OLSON, BZDOK & HOWARD, PC
Date: November 18, 2022
Re: Doan Investigation Report Summary
File No.: 5984.00

I have been provided the investigation report for Chief Doan in my capacity as City
Attorney. Because of the sensitive nature of these allegations and the fact that the detailed
information will likely reveal personal information of a sensitive nature and the identity of the
complaining party, I have prepared this summary of the investigation report to share with Council
and potentially the public. This summary does not contain all the detailed statements or recitation
of facts that are in the report so as not to disclose the identity of the Complainant, the witnesses or
personal information of a sensitive nature; however, the substantive allegations against Chief Doan
are detailed below. The summary concludes with the Investigating Attorney’s recommended
course of action for the City, all of which I strongly support.

This memorandum is exempt from disclosure under Section 13(1)(g) of the Freedom of
Information Act. However, Council has the discretion to waive the exemption and to provide this
memo to the public. Because of the public interest in this matter, it is my recommendation that
Council elect to release this memo to the public.

Background

On Thursday, October 13, 2022, the City Manager received a complaint from an employee
of the City of Charlevoix Police Department. The complaint pertained to certain conduct allegedly
engaged in by Chief of Police, Gerard Doan, that allegedly constituted sexual harassment and/or
created a hostile work environment on the basis of sex. Thereafter, the City Manager initiated the
complaint response process by contacting the City’s labor and employment legal counsel.

On Friday, October 14, 2022, Chief Doan was placed on paid administrative leave pending
an investigation into the complaint allegations. Attorney Lindsay Raymond was then retained to
investigate the complaint and provide related counsel.

On Thursday, October 27, 2022, Chief Doan was interviewed with his legal counsel and
he was given an opportunity to address all allegations made against him. His counsel was present.

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At the conclusion of his interview, Chief Doan’s counsel indicated that they were considering
possible resignation/retirement.

While the investigation was still ongoing, on Monday, October 31, 2022, Chief Doan
informed the City Manager the he was resigning and/or retiring his position as Police Chief,
effective November 1, 2022. The report was finalized and provided to the City Attorney.

Basis of the Complaint

The basis of the complaint was that a hostile work environment was created by these
actions of Chief Doan. 1 The complaining (“Complainant”) party alleged that Chief Doan engaged
in a pattern of repeated and regular inappropriate conduct based on sex that made the Complainant
so uncomfortable that, as a result of this conduct, she felt that she would need to look for other
employment. The Complainant’s allegations pertain to conduct that began soon after her hiring,
escalated over the years, and ultimately culminated in an incident that triggered this complaint.
Her allegations include, but are not limited to: Chief Doan made repeated unsolicited and
inappropriate comments about women’s bodies, dress, appearance, and physical fitness; Chief
Doan made repeated unsolicited and inappropriate comments about his wife and shared details of
their intimate and private relationship; Chief Doan made other inappropriate and unsolicited
comments to the Complainant; Chief Doan gave special treatment and gifts to the Complainant;
and Chief Doan orchestrated certain events or scenarios in order to spend time with the
Complainant. Given her subordinate position and Chief Doan’s ability to influence her
employment, the Complainant stated that she felt that she could not tell Chief Doan “No,” and that
she had to deal with the conduct in order to keep her job. She was afraid that Chief Doan would
retaliate or take adverse action against her if she declined or asked him to stop.

As noted above, the Complainant alleged this type of behavior had been escalating over
her term of employment, and there were two recent instances precipitated to the filing the
complaint about Chief Doan’s behavior. First, the Complainant told Chief Doan she was planning
to purchase a bushel of tomatoes to make salsa. Chief Doan allegedly contacted the Complainant
late in the evening and told her that he knew that her tomato order would not be available. He told
her he would take her to a different farm the next morning to get the tomatoes. The Complainant
said Chief Doan interjected himself in her personal matter without her invitation and she felt she
had to go with him as her boss. The next morning Chief Doan allegedly drove the Complainant to
the farm in his personal vehicle during work hours. Chief Doan allegedly kept the tomatoes and
told the Complainant that he would take the tomatoes back to his house and the Complainant could
pick them up there after work. The Complainant believed that Chief Doan’s wife was out of town
and she did not want to have to go to his house to get them. Given his ongoing and escalating
inappropriate behavior, the Complainant felt like Chief Doan had orchestrated this event so that
she would have to be alone with him at his residence. The Complainant ultimately went to pick up
the tomatoes at Chief Doan’s house after work the next day. When she got there, he was alone. He
loaded the tomatoes in her vehicle. The Complaint said nothing inappropriate happened at that
time, but she was very uncomfortable.

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There were no allegations of inappropriate physical contact by Chief Doan.
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 Second, a few days after the tomato incident, Chief Doan allegedly made another
inappropriate comment to the Complainant, in the presence of a witness. The Complainant was
discussing assisting another female officer with her vest fitting and Chief Doan’s comment referred
to taking photos of the vest fittings for him. After these last two events, Complainant filed the
complaint about Chief Doan’s conduct with the City Manager.

Witness Interviews and Evidence Review

Four individuals were interviewed: the Complainant, two other individuals from
the police department, and Chief Doan. The investigation found that the allegations by the
Complainant credible and supported by the evidence. In particular, the report finds that the two
individuals from the department supported and confirmed the Complainant’s allegations
summarized above, and that many of the allegations above were also confirmed by Chief Doan in
his interview.

Report Conclusions and Recommendations

The report contains the following conclusions and recommendations:

1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (“Title VII”) prohibits employers
from discriminating against employees based on their personal characteristics, including
their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin.
Discrimination on the basis of sex includes sexual harassment, both quid-pro-quo
harassment (“this for that”) and hostile work environment harassment (repeated instances
of offensive and unwelcome conduct based on sex that causes an uncomfortable and
unproductive work environment for the employee). Under Title VII, the responsibility of
managers and supervisors to ensure compliance is elevated given their authority and the
imbalance of power between them and subordinates. Additionally, Title VII prohibits
employers from retaliating against employees based on an employee’s opposition to
employment discrimination, a complaint of discrimination, or participating in an
investigation or procedure related to a complaint of discrimination. The policies of the City
of Charlevoix and the Police Department prohibit similar conduct. Further, under Title VII
and the City of Charlevoix’s policies, the City is required to promptly and thoroughly
investigate any complaint of perceived discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, and take
reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct any such discrimination, harassment, and
retaliation.

2. Chief Doan’s repeated and pervasive gender-motivated and inappropriate conduct

described above is prohibited by Title VII and constitutes a violation of the City’s Equal
Employment Opportunity and Workplace Harassment policies, as well as the Police
Department’s Policy and Procedures for Workplace Harassment. With knowledge of the
conduct of Chief Doan, any future related misconduct by him could have exposed the City
to a risk of liability. This is especially true given that Chief Doan was the most senior
manager of the Police Department and had supervisory capacity over numerous employees,
including the Complainant and witnesses, among others. As such, given the sheer volume

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 and pervasiveness of his misconduct and the perceived dishonesty at certain points of his
interview, the investigating attorney would have recommended termination had Chief
Doan not submitted his resignation/retirement on October 31, 2022.

3. Although Chief Doan is no longer employed by the City, the City and the Police
Department are required to take additional steps to prevent recurrence of similar conduct
by others in the future. While the current policies addressing sexual harassment are facially
sufficient, it is recommended to ‘strengthen the language and adding a specific section on
management responsibility that clarifies expectations for managers and supervisors,
including the obligation to immediately report any suspected harassment and any
complaints they individually receive, regardless of whether the Complainant requests that.

4. It is also recommended that the City of Charlevoix promptly provide specific training on
harassment in the workplace to ensure that all employees understand how to identify and
report unacceptable behavior, what steps the City will take to investigate such reports, and
the consequences of such violations. Managers and supervisors should have a separate
training that covers the same topics, but also addresses their heightened duties to ensure
they understand the power imbalance dynamic and can hold each other accountable. Going
forward, it is recommended that such training be provided to new hires upon hiring, to
managers and supervisors every year, and all other employees every 2-3 years. By
modifying the policies and providing this training, the City can clearly communicate to its
employees that it takes this issue seriously and is committed to providing a safe and
productive workplace where its employees can thrive.