Police Chief Took Army Base Roles Regardless of Harassment Claims

MADISON, Wis. — A former police chief was capable of transfer between postings at U.S. Army bases regardless of allegations that he sexually harassed girls at one base and that his poor conduct could have performed a job in a coworker’s suicide, in line with Army paperwork obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal.

The newspaper reported that Ryan Cunningham turned police chief at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin in 2016, months after an investigation at Fort Wainwright in Alaska discovered he sexually harassed a feminine Army sergeant and made undesirable advances towards her and different girls whereas he was that base’s performing police chief. Cunningham resigned whereas the investigation was ongoing.

An investigation at Fort McCoy, about 110 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Madison, discovered that Cunningham typically used slurs to seek advice from his officers and the hostile working setting could have contributed to the suicide of James Hamilton, the bottom’s former director of emergency providers, who died in 2020. The investigation famous that it wasn’t conclusive that Cunningham’s conduct was a think about Hamilton’s demise.

Hamilton and Cunningham labored collectively for about six months at Fort McCoy earlier than Cunningham left the bottom in January 2020 to change into momentary police chief at one other base, the Aberdeen Proving Floor in Maryland. He finally turned that base’s strategic planner, in line with his LinkedIn web page, though a base spokesperson stated he not works there.

Cunningham declined remark.

Cunningham’s motion between bases raises questions concerning the Army’s capacity to trace sexual misconduct by civilian staff. Fort Wainwright spokesperson Eve Baker stated that base’s investigation was a “local-level” probe and no central repository for investigative paperwork exits. However she stated commanders would have instructed future employers that Cunningham left the bottom whereas below investigation if requested.

Fort McCoy spokesperson Tonya Townsell referred questions on Cunningham to the Civilian Assets Company, which oversees civilian hiring on the base. Amy Stevens, a division chief with the sources company, declined remark.

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