REALLY, IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL KIDS

During a normal day of patrolling, on March 30, 2015 I was served with a proposal for termination. While at The Little Eagle Grant School eating lunch with the school children and school principle. Chief Of Police Lawrence and Special Agent Ware showed up at the lunch room, they both looked inside and then walked away. Once I got up to investigate what they was doing I was escorted outside by Chief Of Police Lawrence and Special Agent Ware. I remember when I got outside, Special Agent Ware stated he needed my service weapon. When I attempted to reach down, he put his hand on my gun holster. I raised my gun out, removed the bullet out the chamber and passed it to him. I then remember Chief Of Police Lawrence asking for the keys to my government vehicle. All this was done in front of the school. Chief Of Police Lawrence then drove me to my residence in McLaughlin, South Dakota and pulled behind my house while Special Agent Ware followed in his grey unmarked unit. Once behind the house they asked me for my badge and other law enforcement items. As I was walking inside my residence Special Agent Ware asked for my bulletproof vest. I attempted to close my rear door to my residence, but Agent Ware put his foot in my door. I gave him my vest and he stated don’t do nothing crazy to yourself. I then closed my door.  

My government email was also disabled by the agency during their power struggle.  I sent an email from my personal account to Human Resource to be reactivated my account for my case defense. I received no contact from Chief Of Police Lawrence, even though was advised to do so by Anne Mortensen, Human Resources Supervisor. I was later advised by Officer Campbell that supervisors were making a hostile work environment for me and I needed to be careful. While working at the movie theatre I had opened for the community,  I put an message on the sign. I was advised by staff at local theatre that my supervisors for BIA was taking pictures of my sign at movie theatre. I wasn’t surprised at the picture taking but I thought it was a funny joke. I know you’re wondering what the sign said. To make a long story short, “Treat your damn employees as you would like to be treated.” On 4-16-15 at 6:00 pm, Chief Of Police Lawrence came by residence to state he was directed to let me use my email, but I had to monitored by him. In which he decided to retreat and sent another employee later that day.

I requested for a complete and though investigation into these matters discussed by the agency and I filed yet another US Equal Employment Opportunity Agency complaint. I requested that they immediately address the reported problem of employment discrimination and retaliation at the U.S Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Office of Justice Services in Fort Yates, North Dakota.   Specifically, I asked that the administration send a message of “zero tolerance” of workplace discrimination and that Interior’s leadership uphold the intent of the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act (No FEAR) of 2002 by defending an employee’s right to report internal abuse without reprisal.  I don’t believe that the Interior would want to promptly address internal issues with the goal of successfully resolving them.  Therefore, I earnestly asked that they facilitate the timely resolve of workplace unrest and discriminatory issues reported by me, a BIA employee.  At the time I was a conscientious civil servant with 15 years of service, as well as a non-enrolled African American male, who wanted to perform my duties in an atmosphere free of retaliation.  I also asked for fair opportunities for advancement, as noted by President Obama’s Executive Order 13583 dated August 18, 2011. I had conveyed to Congresswomen Noem that since engaging in protected EEO activities, workplace retaliation had worsened.  As a Federal Union Representative, I had diligently tried handling in-house issues at the lowest level possible. Still, I was still left to languish in an atmosphere of reprisal with no resolution.

 I reviewed BIA’s GSA FY 2012 statistics pursuant to the No FEAR Act of 2002.  I was most disappointed to learn that it took BIA an average of 372.13 days to investigate an employee complaint.   The Interior submitted data discloses that the agency, habitually,  exceeds the 180 days for completing investigations of discrimination as prescribed by  29 CFR 1614.108 (f).  Long delays in resolving in-house human resources management issues within the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs draw our concern.  After all, workplace issues have a debilitating and potentially disastrous impact on employee morale (subordinates and supervisors), productivity, and costs to the taxpayers.  Moreover, delays in resolving internal workforce conflicts, calls into question the agency’s ability to accomplish its proffered mission, cited on the BIA’s website, “to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.”  

I was sincerely hoping that the Interior would provide the needed leadership to provide a win-win resolution to my cases; and that in accordance with the No FEAR Act, the Interior would ensure a fair and equitable work environment for all Interior employees For workplace conflict, inequality and retaliation within any federal agency not only injures the affected civil servant, but disturbs vital resources that an agency might otherwise spend on mission critical concerns.  Even though I was treated badly, It was my practice to afford the agency an opportunity to address any diversity issue brought to their attention before alerting the public of any transgression(s) of civil rights laws or regulations.