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Misconduct claims against Wayne County Sheriff candidates receive new scrutiny
WXYZ News - Detroit
Jan 13, 2021
DETROIT (WXYZ) — As a panel prepares to select the next Wayne County Sheriff, past misconduct complaints filed against two leading candidates for the job are receiving new scrutiny.
Fourteen candidates have applied for the post following the death of Sheriff Benny Napoleon in December after a battle with COVID-19. A panel made up of three elected county officials will interview candidates beginning Thursday. A vote is expected the next day.
Two of the leading candidates for the position, Deputy Chief Raphael Washington and Chief Robert Dunlap, were each the subject of misconduct accusations in federal lawsuits that ended in taxpayer-funded settlements.
In 2017, Raphael “Ray” Washington was accused by a Wayne County deputy of making unwanted sexual advances and requests.
According to a lawsuit, the deputy alleged that Washington asked her to come into his office and “massage his neck because it was bothering him.” She complied, she said, ”rather than risk retaliation.”
The deputy ultimately left Wayne County for a position in another department only to later return. When she did, she said she texted Washington asking to be given an assignment in the county’s courts division.
According to a text message she provided in her complaint, Washington replied: “As soon as I get my massage.”
The deputy responded: “You better do some (deputy) training and read the quid pro quo section.” Washington responded: “That (section) is for you,” adding later: “Do what you have to do.”
The deputy claims that when she told her co-workers about the text messages, she was retaliated against by Washington and others. Wayne County ultimately settled the lawsuit, along with a related case against a different Sheriff’s official, for $85,000 and admitted no wrongdoing.
Late Wednesday, Washington issued a statement saying: "I am aware of one complaint which Sheriff Benny Napoleon acted immediately at that time to have thoroughly investigated. As a result of the investigation, the complaint was determined to be unfounded and was subsequently resolved to his satisfaction."
Another candidate for the position is Robert Dunlap, the current chief of jails. 15 years ago, while an Asst. Police Chief in the Detroit Police Department, a woman who claims to have dated Dunlap alleged in a court filing that he used police resources to harass her.
In 2005, she obtained a Personal Protection Order against Dunlap and, in a civil lawsuit, claimed Dunlap retaliated against her for the PPO, having a team of DPD officers pull her over and detain her for at least 30 minutes.
While the woman accused Dunlap of violating the protection order, a Wayne County judge ultimately disagreed.
The woman filed a civil suit against Dunlap and he later filed his own counterclaim, alleging she had harassed him. The City of Detroit settled the case, paying the woman $75,000. Dunlap admitted no wrongdoing.
By text message, Dunlap would not comment on the substance of the allegations but stressed that they are 15 years old, that a judge ruled he did not violate the PPO and that he “was granted a Top Secret Law Enforcement Security Clearance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation” afterwards.
Beginning Thursday, a three-person panel made up of Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Judge Freddie Burton and Clerk Cathy Garrett will begin interviews of the 14 sheriffs candidates—including Dunlap including Washington—to determine who will lead the department.
A decision is expected Friday.
Wayne County settled with women who sued 2 candidates to replace Sheriff Benny Napoleon
Detroit Free Press
January 14, 2021
Two men vying to be the next Wayne County sheriff were accused of sexual harassment by female deputies who received an $85,000 settlement from the county.
Robert Dunlap, chief of jails and courts at the Sheriff's Office, and Raphael Washington, deputy chief of jail and courts, are among 14 candidates who applied for the appointment to replace former Sheriff Benny Napoleon, who died last month after battling COVID-19.
A panel of three Wayne County officials — Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Clerk Cathy Garrett and Chief Probate Judge Freddie Burton — said they would make the appointment Friday.
The panel interviewed nine candidates Thursday afternoon via Zoom. Washington was questioned for 26 minutes but the panel didn't ask him about the lawsuit allegations or the settlement the county paid out. Instead, the panel focused on things like Washington's plans to handle potential unrest, what he hoped to accomplish in his first 100 days and his position on incarcerating nonviolent offenders with mental health issues.
Dunlap has yet to be interviewed, though that could happen Friday before the panel makes its choice.
Members of the panel had asked a court to give them more time to vet the candidates, but Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny ruled last week that state law required the appointment to be made by Friday.
Whomever is selected must run for election in 2022.
Both Dunlap and Washington were named in a lawsuit in 2017, filed by one female deputy and later joined by a second deputy.
The first woman to file alleged Washington summoned her to his office and told her to massage his neck, which was bothering him. She rubbed his neck briefly to avoid a confrontation, according to the suit.
Later when she asked to receive an assignment to a court position, he texted her back, "As soon as I get my massage."
The suit charged that in March 2016, the female deputy showed the message to a commander in the Sheriff's Office while an employee of Worthy's office was present.
"Defendants Dunlap and Washington punished, berated and publicly humiliated" the female deputy "during preparatory meetings in retaliation for her rejecting defendant Washington’s advances and saving his text messages," the suit charged.
The suit also accuses Washington of slapping a female secretary on the buttocks, using sexually explicit language in texts with another female deputy and of having a "reputation of being a womanizing man whore who preys upon subordinate female employees."
A second woman joined the lawsuit, accusing Dunlap of harassing her after she had run for sheriff against Napoleon. The harassment reached a boiling point when the deputy was a member of an honor guard detail in July 2016 at Metro Airport.
"Unable to control himself," Dunlap "made another public spectacle of himself by confronting" the deputy "in the hallway shouting: Stand Down! Strip out of that uniform! and more," according to the lawsuit.
Court records show the county and the two female deputies agreed to have the case dismissed with prejudice, a legal term meaning it cannot be refiled.
A copy of the lawsuit settlement, obtained by the Free Press, shows the county admitted no liability but paid $85,000 to end the case.
The first deputy received $30,000. The second deputy received $20,000 and their lawyer received $35,000 for legal fees and costs.
The settlement also allowed both women to be assigned to the court services division of the Sheriff's Office, which they had sought, as well as to the honor guard. The second woman was also granted the right to take classes to recertify as a trainer within the department.
Wayne County Corporation Counsel James Heath did not respond to requests seeking comment. William Nowling, a spokesman for County Executive Warren Evans, declined comment.
Washington declined to discuss the case earlier this week with the Free Press .
"I don't think I need to address an accusation or whatever," Washington said. "There was nothing ever found. It was unfounded. I don't know why this stuff is even of interest to anybody who has sincere thoughts and things in their mind. It's just, this is politics."
Later, through spokeswoman Paula Bridges, Washington denied knowing that the county was sued for his conduct.
Washington was unaware of "what ultimately transpired with legal counsel as he was only informed that the complaint was unfounded and that the inquiry was closed," Bridges said in a statement.
On Thursday, when speaking to the interview panel, Washington described himself as a trustworthy career law enforcement officer.
"I'm a person who cares about the people of Wayne County, a person who cares about the men and women who work in the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, and I'm a person who cares about the inmate population, and how they're treated in that class, (that) they be treated with respect and dignity," Washington said.
Dunlap declined to speak to the Free Press but issued a statement through a department spokeswoman in which he denied any wrongdoing, saying the second plaintiff was angry because she didn't receive a discretionary assignment.
"There was no sexual harassment," he said. "It was just a refusal to have her discretionary assignment approved."
The list of applicants for the sheriff's post also includes T.P. Nykoriak, who unsuccessfully ran for sheriff against Napoleon in 2020. Nykoriak was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing U.S. savings bonds from a Hamtramck church in 2015.
The panel is scheduled to interview the remaining candidates beginning at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Other applicants include Daniel Pfannes, Wayne County undersheriff and current acting sheriff; Assad Turfe, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans' chief of staff; and William Riley III, Inkster's police chief.
Here is a full list of applicants:
- Charles Lewis Corley II
- Assad I. Turfe
- William T. Riley III
- Walter L. Epps
- Lynette O. Cain
- Raphael Washington
- Calandra Tyson
- Elton Oliver
- Jason Nesler
- Daniel Pfannes
- Tyrone Carter
- T.P. Nykoriak
- Kevin H. Williams
- Robert B. Dunlap
Wayne County deputy chief appointed as sheriff, replacing beloved late Benny Napoleon
Late sheriff died due to complications with COVID-19 after being reelected in 2020
ClickOnDetroit
January 15, 2021
DETROIT – Wayne County Deputy Chief Raphael Washington has been appointed as the county’s new sheriff, replacing the beloved late Sheriff Benny Napoleon.
On Friday, Washington was selected by a three-person panel consisting of Chief Judge Freddie Burton, County Clerk Cathy Garrett and Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Washington’s appointment will last through to the 2022 special primary and general elections. According to county officials, Washington must file to run in those elections.
The sheriff position became vacant after Napoleon died on Dec. 17 due to complications with COVID-19. Napoleon was reelected in 2020, with his new term slated to begin on Jan. 1.
According to state statute, if a sheriff is elected and dies before starting the new term, the seat must be filled within 15 days after the term begins.
Fourteen applicants, including Undersheriff Daniel Dfannes, were interviewed Thursday and Friday for the vacant position, before Washington was chosen.
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