The Willits Police Department’s union took an emergency vote of no confidence in City Manager Brian Bender’s ability to lead the city this week. Last night, Britney Ponikvar, the President of the Willits Police Officers Association, told the City Council that Bender has “created impossible odds for the police department and opened the City of Willits to further civil litigation liability.”
Multiple women, including a former Willits police chief, have filed lawsuits against the city and the department, alleging misconduct ranging from physical and sexual violence to creating a hostile work environment.
Last night, Ponikvar publicly alleged that Bender “weaponized the probationary process” by firing Sergeant Jordan Walstrom a few days after he raised the alarm about another officer’s misconduct. Walstrom was Vice President of the police union and a probationary employee. Ponikvar said he was fired on Friday, August 18.
“The city manager has chosen to execute the power to release an employee during their probationary period without cause,” she told the Council. “Yes. It is unusual for a city manager to make a decision without the police chief. However, it should be noted that tensions are particularly strained between the city’s top official and its police chief, after his request for the chief’s resignation, effective September seventh.” (Bender declined our request for comment on the circumstances of Chief Fabian Lizarraga’s resignation.)
The chambers were standing room only when Ponikvar delivered her remarks. The crowd included a number of sheriff’s personnel, who are helping the much-diminished police force patrol the city. Ponikvar stepped outside afterwards to elaborate on her concerns.
“Right now the police department is in trouble,” she said. “And much of our department are probationary employees…Those probationary employees are fearful of bringing concerns because it’s been demonstrated by the city manager, that could affect your job.”
As for what she hopes to accomplish by speaking up, she said she’s trying to spur council members “to ask further questions…First and foremost, I’d like the concern of the serious officer misconduct that was shared with Brian Bender to be addressed. Going forward, it’s my hope that if we can work together, that we open up those lines of communication.”
I spoke with City Manager Brian Bender and Vice Mayor Gerry Gonzalez about the department’s severe staffing shortage and Measure K on Tuesday, before the vote of no confidence in Bender. Gonzalez, a former Willits police chief himself, said the first priority for the department is recruiting. Asked what he would say to assure entry-level police officers, particularly women, that they will be treated with dignity and respect in the department, Gonzalez said, “I think it’s something that we are aware of. It’s something that we don’t want to tolerate. And that it’s something that if we find out or they tell us, they can rest assured that we will look into it and deal with it.”
Bender likewise insisted the city will not tolerate abuse, saying that the city has, “a zero tolerance policy toward any discrimination or harassment. And I can guarantee once we are made aware of an incident, we initiate an investigation pretty thoroughly and pretty quickly, and we hold offending parties accountable.”
They expect an interim chief, James Conner from Sebastopol, to arrive in a couple of weeks. The Press Democrat reported that in 2019, Conner resigned shortly after a vote of no confidence by the Sebastopol Police Officers Association. The union did not provide specific reasons, and Conner reportedly said he believed a small group of officers with grievances pre-dating his leadership persuaded new employees to go along with the vote.
Bender said that between now and the interim chief’s arrival, the city has police coverage during the day and a portion of the night, in the form of one officer on patrol most days and two during the weekends. The department currently has one sergeant, three officers, and two new officers in the field training program. The two new officers must be accompanied on patrols by a certified field training officer. Only the sergeant is a certified field training officer. The department is currently looking for three police officers, a community services officer (who patrols but is not a sworn peace officer), and a school resource officer.
Bender said that surrounding law enforcement agencies, including the police departments of Ukiah and Fort Bragg, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol, “have been made aware of our staffing situation;” and that the city has a temporary agreement to receive backup from the MCSO’s northern district. As the sheriff shifts personnel to cover for Willits, the Fort Bragg and Ukiah police departments will move to fill in for the sheriff.
For her part, Ponikvar is hoping for more than a stopgap solution. “I am willing to meet with the city manager whenever needed,” she pledged. “I have taken on this role because I am not a probationary employee…I made the decision to speak at City Council, because I want to see the improvements that I believe everybody wants to see, and I hope that we can work towards that.”
And we all know the problem. It’s that Sgt Gray. Glad to see they got rid of the good ones and kept him. Great job bender.
The new WPD Chief Alexis Blaylock tried to “give the people of Willits the service they deserve”.
We saw what happened to her & their wrongdoing cost the city millions $.
When Gonzoles was on the force in the ’90’s he regularly intimidated, harassed and coerced forced confessions from children, breaking apart families and communities. I’m sure he knows whats needed as vice mayor.