GIBRALTAR, Mich. (WXYZ) — The city of Gibraltar is now facing a lawsuit after members of council voted to terminate the city’s police chief. That vote took place at an Oct. 14 meeting.
Chief Richard Tanguay is now calling his firing retaliatory.
Tanguay has been on the job since 2022 and says he believes he was terminated after sounding the alarm about improper conduct by council members and members of the fire department.
"There was a lot of animosity on Facebook and some talk around town that it was some things that happened behind the scenes. Rick has always been at all of the functions in town, a good representative for the city and I was shocked," Gibraltar city resident Randy Lothian said. "It did catch me off guard because it’s a somewhat calm city and I don’t know of things going on behind the scenes."
The lawsuit claims that during his time on the job, Tanguay suspected the fire chief and his wife, who is a council member, participated in fraudulent pay practices in connection with a deceased independent living senior home patient.
The lawsuit also claims that Councilman Rob Molnar was associated with a company that was renovating property without the required permit which resulted in a stop order issued by Tanguay.
Tanguay says he reported the incidents to Michigan State Police, the city of Gibraltar and the state attorney general's office.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that council members are pinning Tanguay's termination on a stroke he had in July. However, Tanguay says he fully recovered.
It also states the four council members did not inform the chief, mayor, the other two council members or the public that they intended to seek the chief’s removal, "opting instead for a sudden but coordinated motion at the October 14th meeting."
"It was just out of the blue. We didn’t anticipate it whatsoever," Gibraltar resident Cody Dill said. "They’re elected on our behalf to serve for us and they’ve completely disregarded that and are going on their separate path.
Dill, who formerly served on Gibraltar City Council, is now leading an effort to have three of the four council members who voted to oust the chief recalled. He says they promised to put out a 39-page report with more details on the issues surrounding the chief but have not.
"They’ve made that clear. They’re not even trying to speak up or defend themselves or give us a decent explanation," Dill said.
The day the motion to terminate Tanguay happened, Mayor Garrett Shumate posted the following statement to the city's Facebook page:
To our Gibraltar community,
I will relentlessly focus on the greater good of this amazing City we call home, our dedicated City personnel that work hard every day to serve us, and the residents that elect us and make our community so special. At our Council meeting last night (10/14/24), four Councilmembers (Molnar, Cox, McNabb, and Wood) put forth and voted yes on a motion (thus carrying it by majority vote) to pursue a new Department of Public Safety Director appointment (position currently occupied by Chief Tanguay). Additionally, two Councilmembers (Kozmor and Valentine) expressed their desire to resign and our interim city administrator consultant (Vince Pastue) requested early termination of his agreement effective 10/25/24. I am actively working with all applicable parties to understand procedural considerations and navigate next steps. As I sit here with our personnel in City Hall today, please know that the amazing people that make our city possible will continue to focus on serving our community and its residents as we work through this challenging situation together. As a next step, I am working to prepare information for review with Council at our Special Meeting on 10/21/24 at 5pm (public notice will be posted) to ensure all facts are clearly represented for our community. Rather than allow the actions last night to further divide us, I ask that we send love to Chief Tanguay and his family and come together now more than ever as a community to protect the greater good and preserve and respect the people that make Gibraltar so special.
Thank you,
Mayor Shumate
7 News Detroit reached out to the mayor and several council members Monday for on-camera interviews but all declined to comment on pending litigation.
We also reached out to the fire department, but no one was available immediately.
Attorney Michael Pitt, who is representing Tanguay, sent the following statement:
“Chief Tanguay stood up for what was right and in the best interests for the City and for all the employees who are dedicated public servants. He was hired to clean up the Police and Fire Departments, to foster departments that are more efficient and responsive to the needs of residents. He did exactly what he was asked of him by opening investigations into corruption and fraud, yet he now finds himself being punished for doing his job. Chief Tanguay, like all citizens of our state, is protected by Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act, yet his rights were trampled upon by the four unscrupulous Council Members who had a personal interest in getting him out of the way.”
-Michael Pitt
"It’d be great if they reconcile, find out what the problem is and solve it. Rick was a great officer in Trenton, seemed to be a great officer here and chief in Gibraltar," Richard Lothian said.
Monday at 6:30 p.m., several members of the public plan to attend a city council meeting and air their grievances. At this time Tanguay’s last day on the job is set to be Thursday, Oct. 31.
