AUBURN — Jason Moen, the city’s deputy chief of police, has been disciplined for making an inappropriate sexual comment to a co-worker, which is a violation of the Police Department’s sexual harassment policy.

According to a final disciplinary letter issued by Chief Phillip Crowell, obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request, Moen made an inappropriate sexual comment to another member of the Police Department on Sept. 29, a violation of the department’s policy that forbids “verbal abuse or kidding that is sexually oriented and considered unacceptable by another individual.” That includes telling dirty jokes that are clearly unwanted and considered offensive to others or “any other tasteless, sexually-oriented comments, innuendos or actions that offend others, including the display of objects of a sexual nature.”

Moen will serve a one-day unpaid suspension and is required to attend a course on preventive instruction and a supervisor’s need to not engage in sexual harassment.

According to City Manager Clint Deschene, Moen appealed the disciplinary action, but it was sustained in accordance with the city’s internal affairs process Friday.

Moen must take the instructive course within 90 days.

In his letter advising Moen that the discipline was upheld on appeal, Crowell noted that any further misconduct may result in additional discipline.

Prior to this recent action, Moen has twice been disciplined during his time with the Auburn Police Department. The first was a letter of reprimand issued Dec. 13, 2007, after a review determined Moen could have avoided an accident he was involved in on Route 302 in Raymond in August of that year. The second was a warning issued 10 days after the first, on Dec. 23, 2007, after Moen missed an assigned detail at Edward Little High School.

The Sun Journal first learned of the discipline through an anonymous email sent Oct. 16 from the account AuburnMainePoliceUnion@gmail.com. That email, which is not the union’s account and which union officials deny sending, contained details about the start of the investigation and who conducted the investigation, among other things.

It was followed by several others, each containing more detail of the investigation.

On Monday, Moen issued a memo to all Auburn Police Department personnel clarifying some of the information contained in those emails in an attempt to resolve “rumors and allegations” that had been passed around over the past month.

In his memo, Moen noted that “during firearms qualifications on 09-29-14, I spoke with an officer regarding the gloves he was wearing and advised him to take them off. I used an old police slang term that I learned as a patrol officer when I referred to the gloves.”

And, Moen wrote, “The officer was offended by my use of the term,” noting the officer followed department procedure in filing the harassment complaint with his supervisor.

Moen repeated the assertions made in the first anonymous email and wrote “it is unfortunate that this email went out. The email is simply untrue.” He outlined his two prior disciplinary actions and wrote that “the Executive Boards of both unions have emphatically denied having any involvement with the email, which I believe to be true.”

The unions are engaged in contract negotiations, which Moen acknowledged have been tense, but he said he is “confident the Executive Board would not condone any action that would bring discredit to the department.”

He went on to “accept full responsibility for the comment that I made. What I intended to be an offhand remark trying to be funny, offended him and he took it to be derogatory toward him.”

Moen said that was not his intent, and that he has apologized to the officer in person and sent the memo as a form of apology to all police personnel.

Moen has been an employee of the Police Department since April 1995.

He declined a request from the Sun Journal for comment.

jmeyer@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link