Letter: Souvenir did nothing about harassment

Published 10:37 am Monday, October 24, 2022

With the upcoming election, I wanted to take a minute to share my experience of working with the current administration of the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office. In May 2019, I was hired by PCSO. I was excited to have such a great opportunity to continue to work with PCSO and with Sheriff Souvenir. I had previously worked with him when I was a 911 dispatcher. We had a great working relationship and I was excited to continue to work with him. However, my excitement quickly faded.

Sheriff Souvenir had negligently hired his brother-in-law, Matt Padgett, even after he promised the citizens of Pacific County during his last campaign that he would not hire Matt if elected. He in fact promptly appointed him into a position of leadership, even after he had a history of harassment in the workplace towards women, and was well aware of his behavior.

As a result, Matt was positioned in a place of high authority and once again allowed to continue this pattern of harassment under the direct supervision of his brother-in-law Robin Souvenir. I endured four months of complete hostility and torment under their supervision. For those who don’t know me, I was born without my left hand. There wasn’t a day that I worked with Matt that he didn’t make a derogatory and demeaning comment to me. He continuously mocked, belittled and made fun of me because of my disability. On multiple occasions Matt would ask me “you want a hand with that” whenever I was carrying something or engaged in work. He would be the first to point out how I was missing my arm when someone new came into the office and referred to me as “stub” or “nub” instead of my name. When I asked him to stop, he would mock me and say “Is nubby going to cry…” He told me “I don’t care if I offend you. Do you think I care if I offend you. I can’t be offended. Not being offended is my superpower.” Or when I was carrying a stack of papers he would say “give me five” or on another occasion he asked, “are you trying to get handsy with me?” in reference to my missing hand. He made the comment “you better knock it off or I will chop off your other arm,” and at one point Matt held a piece of pointed lumber towards me and told me that I was not to complain about him. I felt threatened and intimidated and reported this behavior to Sheriff Souvenir, who just sat there and took no action.

This behavior took place under the watch of Sheriff Souvenir, whose office sat right adjacent to my workspace. It was allowed to continue even after I asked Matt to stop on numerous occasions, and also brought it to the sheriff’s attention. Robin repeatedly heard him make these comments and did nothing to effectively stop them. On one occasion when I went to the Sheriff for help, he responded by stating “I can’t control Matt.”

Eventually Sheriff Souvenir was forced to deal with the situation when a risk management investigation found that Matt Padgett’s comments and actions violated the Sheriff’s Office Anti-discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Policies. Sheriff Souvenir’s defense of his inactions was that he felt Matt’s comments were “jokie” in nature. I didn’t find any of this funny. He repeatedly told me “you keep doing you.” After the investigation Sheriff Souvenir had a closed door meeting with me stating that “I am not to talk to anyone outside the office and going forward severe disciplinary action will take place if I hear of you talking again, or we will have to part ways.” This created a very uncomfortable and unwelcoming work environment.

Eventually, I was told that Matt Padgett would be terminated via a hand delivered letter from the sheriff, but come to find out Matt was allowed to resign and received a large severance package for putting me through hell. When I asked Sheriff Souvenir about why, he said that he didn’t have to consult with me.

I have the utmost respect for law enforcement, however I have lost all respect for Robin Souvenir and how he runs his office. So, I ask you today, is this the type of core values and protection you want from your sheriff? Being Sheriff means being a leader and a protector to all. Pacific County needs a leader now more than ever. Everything I have heard of Daniel Garcia makes me believe that he is that person. That is why I am voting for Danial Garcia for sheriff and encourage you to join me.

SHEILA DIDION

Pacific County