Officer terminated following investigation

A Columbus police officer accused of sexual assault and other misconduct while on duty has been terminated by the town.
As reported on the News website on Nov. 19, Police Sgt. Paul Caraway, 56, was terminated by Mayor Gary Woltermann for misconduct and dereliction of duty following a state criminal investigation.
In addition to allegations of sexual assault reported by a 911 dispatcher, Caraway also admitted to Police Chief Bill Pronovost that he had met with a woman at Itch-Kep-Pe Park on several occasions for an hour or more while on duty, Town Attorney Doug Howard said.
Caraway also allegedly failed to comply with Pronovost’s orders to not be in the dispatch office for more than 10 minutes at a time and that Caraway allegedly failed to fill out a report involving a minor in possession of alcohol, Howard said.
Caraway will receive his accrued vacation and sick leave pay, according to state law, and he will receive whatever retirement benefits he had accrued, Howard said.

Human Rights complaint
The dispatcher has filed a complaint over Caraway’s alleged misconduct with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s Human Rights Bureau, citing the Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Cliff Brophy, the Columbus Police Department and Pronovost as respondents, her attorney Nate McConnell said.
According to the Bureau complaint, the dispatcher filed a complaint with the Sheriff’s Office in 2007 and with Chief Pronovost in 2009 alleging misconduct by Caraway that she considered to have sexual undertones. She also claims no disciplinary action was taken and that Pronovost hired Caraway as a town police officer after the two complaints.
The dispatcher claims Caraway’s alleged misconduct stepped up after she separated from her husband, beginning with Caraway recounting explicit stories about his sexual escapades even after she told him several times they were inappropriate, especially for a married man.
The dispatcher alleges Caraway moved on to directly propositioning her and then showed up uninvited at her home on three occasions in April and May. On the second occasion, when she was at home on sick leave, she alleges Caraway followed her up to her bedroom and made statements of a sexual nature, according to the Bureau complaint.
She also alleges Caraway exposed himself to her on two occasions while in uniform in the dispatch office kitchen and then in the restroom. On the second occasion in early June, she alleges Caraway grabbed her hand and tried to make her touch him.
Despite the fear for her own safety she claims she felt during those incidents, the dispatcher states in her Bureau complaint that did not report the incidents “because she feared that her superiors would either ignore her report or retaliate against her.”
The dispatcher finally reported her experiences to a sheriff’s deputy on July 3. According to the Bureau complaint, the deputy told the dispatcher that what Caraway allegedly had done was a crime and needed to be reported.
The dispatcher informed her supervisor and a sergeant with the Sheriff’s Office, but she and Caraway were scheduled to work over the Fourth of July weekend. In her Bureau complaint, the dispatcher claims her superiors did not change her schedule, and she “spent the entire weekend fearing for her safety.”

Officer investigated
According to Howard, Caraway was placed on paid administrative leave by Pronovost on July 6. Pronovost requested that alleged incidents of misconduct by Caraway be investigated by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Howard said.
“That investigation has been conducted and completed,” Howard said.

Certain incidents of alleged misconduct by Caraway came to light during that investigation that led to Mayor Woltermann providing Caraway with a letter on Nov. 6 stating that Caraway was suspended without pay and giving Caraway notice that the mayor intended to terminate his employment with the town effective Nov. 20, Howard said.
“That gave Caraway 10 days to file a written response with the mayor,” Howard said. “Caraway’s response was received Nov. 16.”
When the News contacted Caraway, he said his only comment had already been sent to the town attorney.
Howard said the investigative information about Caraway was provided to the Montana Attorney General’s Office.
Stillwater County Attorney Nancy Rohde said her office could not prosecute Caraway because the office had worked in the past with Caraway and bringing a case against him posed a conflict of interest.
In a Sept. 29 letter to Pronovost and Rohde, Montana Assistant Attorney General Brant Light explained that “it is clear from this and previous investigations that Sgt. Caraway has acted inappropriately in office settings.”“While Sgt. Caraway may want to characterize his actions as playful and that others willfully participated, his actions were not appropriate in any government office setting,” Light said.
Light, however, said the investigation also made it clear that both Caraway and the victim “have credibility issues.”
“While I believe it is entirely possible that the alleged act of sexual assault did in fact take place, I do not believe I could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt due to those serious credibility issues,” Light said about the alleged June 5 incident.
McConnell disputes the statements about the dispatcher’s credibility.
“She has been consistent and detailed – people who are lying don’t do that,” he said.
McConnell also criticized the Division of Criminal Investigation’s treatment of his client. Based on what she told him about the interviews, they asked her about unrelated incidents in a “blame the victim” type of approach.
“It was simply outrageous,” he said. “I’m very disappointed.”
McConnell said the dispatcher has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She is seeking damages but also wanted Caraway removed from his position as a police officer in order to protect other people.

Civil complaint continues
The Human Rights Bureau has six months to investigate the dispatcher’s complaint and determine if it should be taken to a contested hearing. The complaint against the county was filed Sept. 17, and the complaint against the town was filed Nov. 19.
Stillwater County is being represented in the dispatcher’s complaint by Montana Association of Counties Managing Defense Counsel Gregory Bonilla. He denied most of the allegations in his response.
Howard said the Bureau complaint has been forwarded to the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority, which insures the town, but he wasn’t aware of an attorney yet being assigned to the case.
Two weeks after Caraway was placed on paid administrative leave, a complaint was filed with the police by a mother with two children who lived in Columbus.
According to court documents and Columbus police documents, the woman claimed that Caraway randomly pulled her car over, moved her parked car one time without permission, and climbed into the front seat of her car one time when she was gone, frightening her children. She claimed that these and other incidents occurred over a four-year time period.
Citing these alleged incidents, the woman sought a temporary order of protection from Caraway in Stillwater County Justice Court, which was granted by Justice of the Peace Lee Cornell on Sept. 9.
The petition for an order of protection was dissolved following a court hearing on Sept. 28. Cornell ruled that the woman had not provided sufficient solid evidence for him to grant an order of protection.
On Oct. 20, the Columbus Town Council unanimously approved spending up to $2,500 to hire Billings attorney Tom Singer to work on the Caraway case, which was being kept confidential at the time as a personnel matter. Singer had specialized knowledge about employment law, Howard told the council at the time.