21-02-2025
Tacoma hired an outside firm to investigate its ex-police chief. It cost the city $11K
Tacoma paid more than $11,000 for an outside investigation into former Police Chief Avery Moore's truthfulness about pricey work-phone charges while on an overseas family vacation, documents show.
An investigative report submitted in December found that Moore hadn't deliberately misled two city administrators about his knowledge of the $1,000-plus phone bill incurred while in Sweden but could have been clearer in regard to what he knew.
Between September and November, a Seattle-based law firm — Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC — submitted three invoices to the city totaling $11,052 for the investigation, according to documents obtained by The News Tribune in a public records request.
The invoices reflected nearly 31 hours of work at an hourly rate of $360, including for preparing and conducting interviews and working on the report, the documents show.
The city declined to comment on the cost to taxpayers and referred to prior statements made by Moore and City Manager Elizabeth Pauli about Moore's bill, placement on paid administrative leave and subsequent return.
Moore, who retired earlier this month, accumulated $1,082 in international charges in July while on the nearly week-long vacation. He told city officials that he used his city-issued phone for GPS navigation because his personal phone neither was accessible nor working, The News Tribune previously reported.
Moore, who reimbursed the city, was placed on leave in late September as the city launched an outside investigation focused on whether he had lied to officials about his initial awareness of the bill.
The now-retired chief apparently denied knowing of any personal charges in a late September meeting with Pauli and another official, The News Tribune previously reported. Pauli later learned that Moore had received text messages from Verizon relating to the incurred costs while on vacation.
Moore returned from leave in early October after receiving a verbal counseling from Pauli, who said in a statement at the time that she had concluded Moore didn't intend to be misleading although he also 'did not meet expected standards of professional judgment.'
Upon returning to work, Moore also released a statement, saying that he accepted his discipline and 'look(ed) forward to restoring the trust and integrity that have defined my career.'
Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC signed a professional services contract with the city in January 2018 to conduct probes into possible workplace violations on an as-needed basis upon the request of the city's Human Resources department, according to a copy of the contract.
