PORT ORCHARD — A South Kitsap Fire and Rescue battalion chief who retired rather than be dismissed for allegedly sexually harassing two female firefighters, is at the center of a Kitsap County Superior Court lawsuit filed in September.

Battalion Chief Michael Wernet retired in January 2017 after learning that Fire Chief Steven Wright was planning to fire him as a result of findings from an independent investigator the district had hired.

Rebecca Dean was brought in on Oct. 31, 2016, by the fire department to interview Wernet, the two female firefighters who assert they were sexually harassed and witnesses identified as being present when the remarks were said to have been made.

South Kitsap Fire and Rescue was named as the defendant in the lawsuit, which alleges that Wernet’s presence at the fire district created a hostile work environment. A court date to hear the lawsuit has not yet been scheduled in Superior Court.

The investigation revealed that, based on interviews with witnesses, Wernet engaged in an inappropriate conversation of a sexual nature with the two women present — and also included the presence of two of the witnesses’ young daughters — that created an uncomfortable situation in the room. Soon after the incident, four of the witnesses completed the fire district’s discrimination/harassment incident report form and submitted it to SKFR leadership.

On Oct. 26, 2016, Wernet was placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigator’s findings.

In her findings, Dean found the battalion chief was involved in several other incidents in which he had reportedly made inappropriate sexual comments.

In one incident, Wernet was found to have squirted one of the female firefighters with a large syringe of saline. When asked why he had done that, Wernet used crass, suggestive language to describe sexual activity.

The investigator also reported the battalion chief had made racially insensitive comments to one of the female firefighters, repeating a comment made earlier to her by an intoxicated bystander about her skin color.

In an interview with the Independent, SKFR’s fire chief said that after receiving the results from the investigation, he hand-delivered a letter to Wernet on Jan. 11, 2017, stating that, based on the investigation’s findings, the battalion chief’s employment would be terminated, pending a pre-disciplinary hearing.

In Wright’s letter to Wernet, he noted that the information gathered concerning the complaints were accurate.

He wrote: “According to Ms. Dean’s report, you acknowledge that your comments were not consistent with SKFR anti-harassment policies.”

Wright continued: “There is no way, in this day and age, that anyone could honestly defend your statements and actions.

“There are almost daily news reports regarding this type of behavior. In fact, in many instances, agencies are being held responsible for conduct that is less insensitive than yours.

“As this District’s Fire Chief, I can no longer rely on you to serve in the capacity as a Battalion Chief.”

Wright said that after being offered a hearing by the department, Wernet instead resigned his position.

“He called it retirement since he was eligible,” the fire chief said. “I was never able to issue him the full discipline.”

Wernet was the subject of disciplinary action in 2002 that resulted in his suspension for 40 hours without pay.

He was later named in two lawsuits involving a female paramedic who alleged that Wernet agreed to have her transferred from a fire station after a lieutenant complained about having to work with a woman. Wright said the battalion chief had acted well outside of the fire department’s standards and policies.

“We have these rules for a reason,” he said. “They’re based on state and federal laws, and his actions were inappropriate. I’m not going to tolerate that as chief. I lost faith in him and he wasn’t going to be an officer for me.”

Wright emphasized that once the investigation was completed and Wernet had retired, he scheduled all-hands meetings with his staff to explain how the process unfolded.

“One of my concerns was to make everyone know that the reporting and the wrongdoing were brought forward according to policy,” he said.

“Those employees [who filed complaints] did what was right, and there is no way, shape or form they should be looked down on or retaliated [against].

“There’s protection under the law for these [women] to not be discriminated against because of their action.

“I’m thankful that they did that.”

— Bob Smith is editor of the Port Orchard Independent.