Deputy Police Chief Troxel Gets Letter Of Reprimand In Lieu of Termination Following Investigation

Renton Police Chief Kevin Milosevich’s original recommendation — dated June 15, 2012 — to fire Deputy Chief Tim Troxel was downgraded to a written reprimand after Troxel "pleaded" for a lighter punishment.

He will now retire for the Renton Police Department effective August 31.

According to his separation agreement with the City — dated July 23, 2012 —Troxel received a letter of reprimand from the Chief in lieu of termination. The Chief’s decision to issue the letter of reprimand instead of firing Troxel came after the Deputy Chief submitted a two-and-a-half-page letter to explain his actions.

In this letter, Troxel wrote, “I do not deserve to be fired. I plead with you to provide me with discipline less than the termination of my employment to preserve the integrity of the Renton Police Department, and my professional reputation as a law enforcement officer as we move forward in this process.”

The Chief’s letter of reprimand reads:

On June 15, 2012, I issued a notice of my preliminary intent to terminate your employment based upon the report of the independent investigator (CO-12-06), and scheduled a Loudermill hearing to provide you with an opportunity to share any additional information you wanted me to consider before making the final decision. You chose to submit a written response. After considering the information you provided, I have decided to issue the Written Reprimand. The reason for my decision is based upon the following:

You admitted violating the City’s Email System Policy with unprofessional email communications, and failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with a subordinate. According to your Loudermill response, “ I realize that I need to maintain professionalism at all times with my colleagues, especially with subordinates so I am setting a good example, and that there is no presumption of privacy in city email.”

You also admitted to devising a plan to investigate a subordinate of mine and proceed without my prior knowledge. While I recognize you thought you had the best of the Department in mind, the manner in which you chose to proceed was not proper. You readily admitted your mistakes and pleaded with me to weigh your 28 years of service and commitment to the Department against these recent events.

Based upon all the information you provided, your full acknowledgement of your poor judgment and the unique and unprecedented facts at issue, I am issuing this Written Reprimand.

Also, as part of the separation agreement (click on the pdf, above, to read the full document), Troxel:

• used vacation time from the date of the agreement thought July 20
• went on sick leave from July 23 through his last date of employment with the City, August 31, 2012
• will receive his regular salary ($138,100 at the time of his scheduled retirement) and benefits through his last day of employment

Prior to the separation agreement, Troxel was placed on administrative leave, starting May, 2012. The Renton Police Department hired Troxel in 1984 and he’s served as Deputy Chief since 2006. He last made the news after being for asking an on-duty officer to help him stake out the home of his then-girlfriend, also a city employee, whom he suspected of having a relationship with someone else.

The City of Renton has not returned email and voicemail messages asking for further comment.