MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – A state hearing examiner said the Corrections Department acted properly when it fired a prison guard who bullied a fellow worker who later killed himself.
52-year-old Philip Otto died in March of 2012, after an alleged pattern of bullying by employees at the minimum security Oakhill prison at Fitchburg.
Hearing examiner Stuart Levitan found that the termination of corrections’ officer Rachel Koester was justified, noting that dozens of staffers were interviewed in an internal investigation. However, Levitan also said Oakhill failed to properly respond to several other alleged bullying incidents among staffers.
Otto was among a group of officers who transferred to Oakhill from the Ethan Allen juvenile facility at Wales after that place closed. Levitan said some of those who transferred were harassed, because their seniority made it easier for them to get desirable work shifts, overtime, and vacation days.
The board of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission must still decide if the firing was justified.
The Wisconsin State Journal says two sergeants have appealed their firings in the matter, and another sergeant took early retirement after found to be involved in the bullying. The corrections’ agency said it properly investigated.
Levitan’s decision also revealed that former Oakhill warden Deirdre Morgan was moved to a juvenile corrections’ post after concerns about the climate at Oakhill.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
