Complaint Filed Against Brooklyn Center Council Member
A Brooklyn Center City Council member has been accused of acting inappropriately after an investigation by a law firm. This comes after a city staff member filed a workplace harassment complaint last summer.
The staff member filed a complaint against council member Dan Jerzak.
An investigation, conducted by the law firm Barna, Guzy & Steffen followed the complaint, finding that Jerzak “engaged in inappropriate behaviors.”
CCX News obtained a copy of the complaint and investigation, as well as a rebuttal filed by Jerzak once the investigative report was released.
These documents are heavily redacted. In the 35-page investigation, 16 straight pages are completely redacted. Other pages are partly redacted, leaving only comments from Jerzak or city policies in a readable state.
Much of the employee complaint is also redacted.
Complaint
The complaint appears to come in the form of a request for a leave of absence. It’s dated July 27, 2023.
The writer, who copied city manager Reggie Edwards, Brooklyn Center Mayor April Grave and the city’s HR head, complains of a “hostile work environment I’ve been working in for some time.”
They also referred to “several racially biased incidents that haven’t been investigated or addressed.”
“I’ve brought to the attention of administration via a written grievance the hostile environment the certain council members create for me [redacted],” the complaint reads. “I’ve repeatedly asked for support [redacted] in training, policy procedure and initiatives and I am not being supported included or valued as a professional. I’m actually targeted.”
A redacted page from a complaint filed by a Brooklyn Center city staff member.
Investigation
The city hired attorney Joan M. Quade to investigate the complaint on Aug. 18, 2023.
The scope of the investigation and the date of its delivery are unclear due to the heavy redactions.
However, it’s clear part of the investigation was “Whether Councilmember [Dan] Jerzak violated the City Council Code of Policies and the
Respectful Workplace Policy 3.2 in his interactions with [redacted].”
Jerzak appears to have had an interview with Quade, where they discussed his past career in code enforcement and a crime prevention specialist. They also discussed the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright.
Another page, which is heavily redacted, makes reference to the police department and data requests.
“There is evidence to support that Mr. Jerzak has engaged in inappropriate behavior towards [redacted],” the report reads. “His targeting [redacted] is suspicious and concerning, but there is no clear evidence that it is racially motivated. Mr. Jerzak has crossed the boundaries of a councilmember’s duties and responsibilities and has violated the Respectful Workplace Policy by engaging in behavior that interferes with with a professional, productive, respectful working environment. He has also engaged in intimidation through his unending questioning of [redacted], resulting in an abuse of power.”
An attorney investigated a complaint filed against Brooklyn Center City Council Member Dan Jerzak. The majority of the investigative report is redacted. Above is an excerpt from the attorney’s findings.
Response from Jerzak
Jerzak filed a formal rebuttal of the attorney’s findings. He questioned the report, saying it contained inaccurate information.
“The investigation was very narrowly tailored to allegations that made too many data requests in an attempt to ‘target’ and harass an employee,” Jerzak wrote. “It was also alleged that I violated the ‘respectful workplace policy’ by asking too many questions and questioning statements that were provided to me as facts. My concern, as an elected official, is that this final investigation report continues to contain inaccurate information and is likely to become available or leaked to the public. The investigation contained several factual errors, and it ignored the fact that the Brooklyn Center City Charter supersedes any workplace policy, specifically sections 2.08 – 7.01 – 6.03.”
He also wrote that the investigation could be “fodder for smear campaigns.”
Jerzak did not respond to requests for comments before this story was published.
After an attorney investigated a complaint filed against Brooklyn Center City Council Member Dan Jerzak, an attorney investigated the claims and produced a report. Jerzak’s rebuttal to the report is above.
