Holly Hill police sergeant demoted after sexual harassment investigation

A Holly Hill police sergeant has been demoted amid a sexual harassment investigation in the department that has seen the police chief and two high-ranking officers resign. According to a Volusia Sheriff’s Office report, the sergeant was apparently aware of the department leaders’ “deplorable actions.”

According to a disciplinary action memorandum from City Manager Joe Forte dated June 19, Thomas Bentley was demoted from sergeant to master patrol officer, effective immediately.

Forte’s memo supported the harassment and code of conduct charges against Bentley, but the sexual harassment charge was ruled unfounded.

Bentley was one of three high-ranking officers suspended as part of the investigation, while the police chief resigned. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office’s internal investigation found that Holly Hill Police Department leadership “fostered an atmosphere of sexual innuendo, objectification of women and sexually explicit brawling.”

The sheriff’s office investigation found that Bentley only remembered a minor incident that the lead plaintiffs did not mention.

“Sergeant Bentley’s reaction was concerning as, according to numerous witnesses, he was present at a large number of incidents. Furthermore, and even more concerning, at no point during the testimony did Sergeant Bentley stop making inappropriate comments, jokes or sexual innuendo.”

The report goes on to say that it seems illogical that Bentley was unaware of the actions of former police chief Jeff Miller and former captain Chris Yates, as all three were “very close.”

“For this reason, it appears that Sergeant Bentley was complicit in the deplorable actions of those responsible,” the Volusia Sheriff’s Office’s internal investigation report states.

Derogatory remarks towards female employees

Forte wrote in the memo that he found “compelling sworn testimony from multiple witnesses” who directly accused Bentley “of engaging in inappropriate conversations and making derogatory remarks about female employees and other women.”

“Furthermore, it is evident that you were present at instances where the former chief and captain made derogatory comments in the presence of female employees, and you took no action to intervene, support the women, or report the conduct to Human Resources or the City Manager.”

The memo said Bentley was required to report to his new job as a patrol officer in the Criminal Investigation Division on Thursday.

The memo said Bentley’s demotion “would be accompanied by a salary reduction of up to 10 percent.”

Bentley earns $66,087.84 annually.

Forte and Holly Hill had not yet responded to questions from the News-Journal about how Bentley’s salary would be reduced and whether Bentley would have supervision of women in his role as a patrol officer.

Bentley: Harassment continued, sexual harassment unfounded

The memo supported a harassment charge against Bentley. Police department policy defines harassment in part as verbal or physical conduct that is disparaging or hostile toward a person because of their religion, race, gender or other characteristics.

The memo also supported allegations that Bentley had violated rules of conduct that were defined as, among other things, respectful and polite.

Forte’s memo classified a sexual harassment charge against Bentley as “unfounded.” Sexual harassment was defined in part as any unwelcome sexual advance when acceptance of such conduct is a condition of employment or when such conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual’s job performance or creates a hostile or offensive work environment.

Forte wrote that Bentley made statements saying he believed witnesses harbored a grudge against him, but other than pointing out that he left work promptly at 4:03 p.m. within a certain time frame, Bentley did not provide any “quantitative information” to refute the statements.

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office’s internal investigation report found that the female officers’ complaints about Bentley were “primarily based on remarks” between him and an investigator. There was no physical evidence to support the allegations that Bentley made offensive comments, and he denied making them.

Bentley started in the department in 2011.

Bentley has the right to file a complaint pursuant to the agreement with the Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association.

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