Indianapolis City-County Council President issues apology after chaotic meeting

INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis City-County Council President Vop Osili issued a statement taking responsibility for Monday night's council meeting that erupted into chaos when he called in law enforcement to remove a woman complaining about alleged sexual harassment in Mayor Joe Hogsett's office.




Lauren Roberts claims Hogsett's former deputy mayor and chief of staff Thomas Cook sexually harassed her for several years, beginning during Hogsett's initial run for office in 2014.




When Roberts exceeded her allotted two minutes to speak, Osili ordered Marion County Sheriff's deputies to remove her from the council chambers.




What followed was yelling, a physical struggle and outrage as Roberts and her supporters were pushed into the hallway.




Immediately, and for the next two days, councilors made their displeasure with Osili's enforcement of the rules known.




Today, Osili took responsibility for the meeting running off the rails.




"I regret the trauma to Ms. Roberts and her supporters," wrote Osili. "An already difficult moment for a survivor was made even harder.




"I should have called a recess, created a space for calm, and shown a sensitivity in that emotionally charged moment. In that, I failed Ms. Roberts, my fellow councilors, and those who attended the meeting that evening."




Osili endorsed councilor Frank Mascari's invitation to Roberts to speak, without time limits, in front of his Administration & Finance Committee next Tuesday night as councilors will consider full payment of the legal bills submitted by Fisher Phillips, a Chicago law firm that was hired to undertake the investigation into the Cook Affair.




"You will have the floor. As long as you need," Mascari wrote Roberts today in a text message. "You will be the first person to speak. And you just take your time. I feel your voice should be heard. We will see you Tuesday."




Mascari's committee will hear Proposal 164, which was introduced before the full council Monday night to allocate the remainder of the city's approximately $450,000 legal bill debt to Fisher Phillips.




A number of councilors have expressed frustration that the firm offered up a 55-page report but not the full investigation work product, leaving the clients in the dark about what else the probe revealed.




"Some of the headlines that came out of the investigation committee was, 'OK, well, the mayor's office was legally compliant.' That's a pretty low standard to hold ourselves to," said Josh Bain, a republican who has joined two democrats from Hogsett's own party calling for the mayor's resignation. "Then we find out all this information was left out of the report, and we're just left to question all of these things."




Councilors tell FOX59/CBS4 that the pressure will be on Councilor Crista Carlino, chairwoman of the investigative committee, to recall the committee to reopen pursuit of the full investigative work product.




One councilor told FOX59/CBS4 that there was some reluctance to seek that work product as it may lead to an Open Records Act request by either the media, a complaining witness or a citizen wishing to evaluate the scope of the investigation and whether Fisher Phillips was limited in its pursuit of facts and the reporting of same.




Ellert and Roberts have both spoken publicly on-the-record regarding their allegations, and Roberts issued a 49-page response after the investigative committee received its report in late May.




During FOX59/CBS4's 7-minute interview with the mayor Tuesday afternoon, Hogsett was asked if he favored a release of the entire investigation.




"No," said Hogsett, "I have never supported releasing confidential documents for information that has been obtained with anonymity and confidentiality surrounding it. Now, others have chosen to reveal some of that information, but I don't support it. I support protecting the integrity of the process."




During the interview, FOX59/CBS4 pressed Hogsett on his answer, asking if he thinks it looks like he may be trying to protect himself from those calling for the full release Fisher Phillips' investigative documents.




"No, I'm not protecting myself at all," Hogsett insisted. "I'm protecting the process. It calls for anonymity and confidentiality for both complaining parties as well as witnesses. If you're a witness and see something that you need to report, you don't want to read about your report in the morning paper. And that's what I'm trying to protect, the integrity of the process and the confidentiality of witnesses and survivors to come forward."




Three times in the last year, FOX59/CBS4 have asked the mayor if the Cook affair would derail his agenda for moving Indianapolis forward during his third term in office, and each time, Hogsett has denied that concern.




Tuesday morning, 90 minutes before a scheduled appearance to highlight the City's response to addressing homelessness, Hogsett's office announced that the briefing was being rescheduled as a virtual event and the mayor would not participate as a result of the previous night's chaotic council meeting.




Reverend David Greene of the Leadership Council on Homelessness, told FOX59/CBS4 that an hour before that announcement he had emailed the mayor's office suggesting Hogsett not attend the briefing.




"We didn't really want what happened to interfere with this important initiative related to our homeless brothers and sisters," said Greene. "There's a lot of busy things going on in our city. You would like to have a mayor who can be at the various events and do what needs to be done moving the ball forward."




Hogsett said the focus ought not be on the unanswered questions about the nearly 10-year long atmosphere surrounding his election campaigns and terms in office when Cook was by his side or advising him while allegedly engaging in harassing behavior but rather on the steps the City has since taken to protect all municipal employees in the workplace.




"We need to address this issue related to Thomas Cook," said Rev. Greene, president of the Concerned Clergy. "The buck settles at the top and he would be the one responsible for that and that would lead to his resignation."




Hogsett told FOX59/CBS4 that not only does he have no intention of resigning, he would not negotiate a lesser penalty such as a public censure by the council.



via: https://fox59.com/news/indianapolis-city-county-council-president-issues-apology-after-chaotic-meeting/