Fire chief responds to sexual harassment complaint

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Jackson County Fire District 3 Chief Robert Horton says the department is cooperating with state investigators looking into alleged sexual harassment by a deputy chief. Horton said the agency is cooperating with an Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries investigation of Deputy Chief John Patterson, who has been accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by a female employee at the department. “As an organization, we investigate allegations of misconduct thoroughly and to resolution,” Horton wrote in a statement issued Thursday afternoon, a day after a story about the allegations ran in the Mail Tribune. The paper obtained a copy of the BOLI complaint filed by former Public Information Officer Ashley Blakely through a public records request. Horton said the department “is compliant with” BOLI’s investigation, which is “open and ongoing.” He said the department does not comment publicly on personnel matters. Horton was unavailable for comment when the Mail Tribune tried to reach him Wednesday. “We support and comply with the processes that are in place for our employees,” Horton wrote in the release. Blakely’s complaint, filed Oct. 1, alleges that Patterson removed her from duties as a spokesperson in retaliation for complaints of sexual harassment to superiors in 2015 and for taking a medical leave earlier this year, costing her an estimated $5,000 in potential overtime.