DECLARATION OF **********
1. My name is ******** and I am 52 years old. I was an ATF agent for 20 ½ years from February 1, 1987 until the date of my retirement on September 30, 2007. I know Special Agent **********, but I am not involved in this EEO case other than for the purpose of giving this declaration.
2. When I commenced my employment with the ATF in February 1987, I was a Special Agent in the San Francisco Field Division and served in this capacity for 15 years until the Summer of 2002 when I was promoted to the position of Special Agent/Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Coordinator, a Headquarters Program Manager for the San Francisco and Seattle Field Divisions. I still physically worked at the San Francisco Field Division after receiving this promotion, but my supervisor was located in Washington, D.C. At some point in 2006 there was a program-wide change, and the San Francisco Field Division Special Agent in Charge (SAC) was assigned as my direct supervisor. This was SAC Steve Martin.
3. During the summer of 2007 I went to see my primary care physician at Kaiser Hospital for some knee and foot pain issues. The routine pre-exam screening revealed a very high blood pressure reading, which quickly became the more urgent concern. During this same time frame I had my primary physician and one other doctor advise me that based upon my age, weight, blood pressure and family history, I was at risk of having a stroke. The second doctor was quite knowledgeable about stress related diseases and explained that stress encountered in a law enforcement career is cumulative. Significant lifestyle changes were prescribed to improve my health and get my blood pressure down to a normal level. My doctor placed me on a non-work status for 30 days. I had previously used about 8 days of sick leave during my entire 20 ½ year career with the ATF and had accumulated approximately 1800 hours of unused sick leave. [This number would be higher, but I did not accrue sick leave during 2 ½ years of military deployments]
4. After one month had passed and I was beginning my second month of doctor- ordered sick leave, SAC Martin called me at home to inquire about my sick leave and wanted to know when I would return to work. When I explained my condition, but could not provide a projected return to work date I could tell that he was not pleased. He also inquired as to exactly how my high blood pressure was and what kind of medicine I had been prescribed, which I found to be intrusive. The whole conversation made me feel defensive as opposed to speaking with someone who was genuinely concerned about my health. I felt that the doctor's form that I had provided to ATF management regarding my sick leave was all the evidence of my medical condition that SAC Martin needed to be aware of. To assuage any notion on his part that I was seeking a medical retirement I was adamant (wrongly) that my condition was not job related, but just a factor of my age and family history.
5. During this conversation, SAC Martin told me that there was a form that my doctor needed to fill out which would ascertain what level of work I was capable of, i.e., if I was able to sit at a desk, file paperwork and answer phones. He at some point in this conversation explained that this was setting a bad precedent for other ATF agents by not coming into work and made inquiry about my having the necessary years for retirement.
6. In light of what I had just told the SAC and the fact that I had never been a problem employee, or a sick leave abuser, I believe that a better approach on his part would have been to tell me to work with my doctor, take what time I needed, and return to work when healthy. I would have hoped that the SAC would have taken the time to review my service record, rather than act on his first impressions. He would have seen that I had always been a top producer, had always held collateral duties of Special Response Team (team leader and national instructor) or office Firearms Instructor. SAC Martin would also have seen 14 Special Act or Service Awards, 2 Distinguished Service Medals (1 from the Waco incident) and 1 Hostile Action Award (also Waco). The personal history form would show that upon discharge from the Marine Corps in 1977, I joined a local police department and worked there for almost 10 years prior to joining ATF. The DD214s (discharges from active military service) in my file would further document 3 military deployments with the Coast Guard Reserve post September 11, 2001; 2 to the Middle East , one to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at least a portion of the 30 USMC/USN/USCG ribbons, campaign medals and personal awards earned. Not exactly the record of a malingerer. A thoughtful person might pause and consider that there may be a genuine source for worn-out joints, stress and hypertension amongst those events.
7. Until the Summer of 2007 when I requested sick leave for my documented medical condition, I felt like a valued employee of the ATF and I could have worked for ATF for 5 more years before reaching mandatory retirement. Had some consideration been extended me, and had I been able to take the necessary time to rehab physically and mentally, I'm sure that I would have been inclined to return to work. Instead it became apparent to me that if I was not able to perform work, I was actually of no value, or was in fact a liability in setting a "bad precedent". After researching potential recourses for me, I decided in favor of preserving my own physical and mental health and opted to retire from the ATF on September 30, 2007. When I advised SAC Martin of my intention to retire in an e-mail, he responded only with "Sounds good," as if I had relieved him of a persisting problem and did not offer me any thanks or expression of gratitude for 20 ½ years of stellar service with the ATF.
8. I feel that the reasons for SAC Martin's questioning of my medical condition and use of accrued sick leave were motivated by a desire to protect the agency financially, to fill a chair with a worker, and to maintain a virtual wall around other employees that may be in my same position. As an agent who was well respected by my peers, the treatment that I received most likely sent several demoralizing messages, the key being; no need to be a good steward of your sick leave, because toward the end of your career, when you really need it, management will fight you over it. I have observed that once an agent reaches 15 to 20 years of journeyman experience in ATF, and that agent does not express interest in joining upper management (becoming a Special Agent in Charge or an Assistant Special Agent in Charge), then ATF management views the agent differently and the relationships often become adversarial. For these reasons, I believe SAC Martin's actions in my instance were standard ATF fare. My past service or current health was of no consequence. I could either come back to work and produce, or retire. Either outcome solved a problem.
I state under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and memory.
