The man forced out of his job as Spokane Police Chief just shy of three years after he was shown the door as Indianapolis' Public Safety Director has filed a tort claim notice with his former city employer seeking $4 million in damages according to the Spokesman-Review. Frank Straub claims city officials denied him due process in firing him without an explanation. Although news reports initially claimed Straub had voluntarily resigned his job based on statements from the mayor's office, the claim filed by his attorney says otherwise. “You fired Chief Straub,” the attorney's letter states. “His termination was already fact. … You had already buried him as the police chief.”
Straub was still officially on the city payroll drawing his annual salary of $180,000 until January 1, 2016, making him Spokane's highest paid official. “This is unfortunate as we would like to move the Spokane Police Division forward without distraction,” Mayor David Condon said. “We received a signed resignation letter Tuesday morning, but because of a pending claim cannot comment further.”
Straub's attorney states in her letter that Straub was an at-will employee who could be fired for any reason or no reason at all, with a three-year employment contract. Straub's attorney says he was contacted by a city administrator on September 21 and told of a meeting with the mayor during which he was told he was being terminated. When he asked for an investigation into the reason for his termination, his request was denied.
“Frank Straub was fired,” the letter from Straub’s lawyer states. “He was removed from the City website, and Rick Dobrow was out doing interviews as the new police chief before Frank was even able to turn in his badge.” “These actions show a premeditated and engineered plan to elevate the mayor’s ‘decisiveness’ quality at the expense of Frank Straub’s reputation,” the claim read. “It’s a very interesting time of year.” “The Mayor hired him to wade in and the Mayor mandated him to wade in,” the suit said. “Once he was in, City administration undercut his authority, coddled mutiny, and subversively managed cancerous factions to its own perceived advantage. This was an engineered process designed to damage Frank Straub and enhance the mayor’s standing.” Deja vu?
4 comments:
Straub knew he was a political appointee when he got that job. The chief selection committee did not want him there. With as many appointed administrators that Straub fired here & in Spokane, he knew the rules of at-will appointee meant he can be fired at any time.
As for the number of $4M, it's obvious he pulled that out of a hat....but then that's a dent in the Regional Operations Center (click here) mess that Straub made us taxpayers in Indianapolis pay for, then the documents got shredded.....and didn't he refuse to answer his subpoena?
Something about that guy just smells stinky as can be...
Call it Deja Vu or Karma, the bottom line is that his pattern of behavior continued at Spokane and they said "enough." Spokane paid out 6 figures in lawsuits, 6 figues in a no-bid contract with Straub's Taser buddies for body cams that they cannot use....and they transferred an attractive female employee out of Straub's command authority & gave her a $9000 pay raise (I wonder if that was a settlement for bad behavior that he had a pattern of engaging in here) I guess they figured that Straub cost them enough.
"Straub's attorney states in her letter that Straub was an at-will employee who could be fired for any reason or no reason at all, with a three-year employment contract."
CASE CLOSED.
Frank Straub is perfectly capable of damaging himself without any outside help. Fortunately, word's getting around. There has to be a cell available somewhere.
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