DA Requests External Investigation Into County Misconduct (Photo) -04/16/25

I have thought a lot about what I want to say in the next three minutes in an attempt to describe what I have experienced internally over the past 9 months as the District Attorney. Three minutes is not long enough to give you an overview of the challenges I have faced and the roadblocks I have met. I wonder daily when I will stop paying for the sins of my predecessor. When I will be recognized and respected by you as the elected District Attorney of Lincoln County. When I will be given true latitude to make decisions for my office that have no budgetary impact. When your employees will stop signing documents on my behalf without my knowledge. When my emails will not be monitored by Human Resources or County Counsel. And when $34,000 will not be secretly deducted from my budget. To be honest, I don’t know if that day is coming.

 

You have allowed Kristin Yuille and David Collier to block me, stop me, control me, threaten me and attempt to silence me. And when I raised concerns about how I was being treated and the unethical conduct I was observing, instead of taking my concerns seriously and investigating the conduct, I was ignored, then dismissed, and told by your Director of Human Resources that if I did not stop voicing my concerns, I would be investigated. Your personnel rules devote pages to whistleblower protections that mean nothing in practice as applied to me or the employees in my office. Commissioner Miller is the only person who has repeatedly sought transparency and equality in policy and procedure for all Lincoln County employees, including elected officials. He has requested your board meet in executive session to discuss and address these concerns and has repeatedly been ignored. And when his requests for executive session didn’t work, Commissioner Miller raised questions publicly, and was immediately ostracized and vilified in an attempt to silence him from uncovering the truth.

                 

I recognize that you don’t know me and it’s easy to think the worst of me when you are surrounded by an individual who has been unable to let go of the tumultuous relationship that predated my appointment. You probably have no idea why I became a prosecutor or why this career is so important to me. So, I would like to take a minute to give you some insight into me. When I was three, a federal search warrant was executed on my home, and it was discovered that my biological father was involved in an international child pornography crime ring. When I was seven, he was arrested again for sexually abusing one of my close friends. I can still recall naively playing video games while he led a 7-year-old into his bedroom. I couldn’t even tell you what excuse he told me to normalize this behavior. Additional victims came forward and he spent essentially the rest of his life in prison. I knew in high school I wanted to do something with my life to protect children, to protect the children I was unable to protect when I was a child. And I often think about how blessed I am that God put me in this position – to be a voice for vulnerable children and to hold predators accountable for their conduct. And maybe, just maybe protect another innocent child or adult from being victimized.

 

What you might not understand is that every time you allow others to interfere with my office and allow them to assert their power over me, you don’t hurt me. You hurt your employees. You hurt this community. You hurt victims. Because every time I have to stand up for myself, my office and my employees, it is time that I am not advocating for the victims and citizens of Lincoln County.

 

I have come to terms with the fact that there is nothing I can do to change the culture of Lincoln County until two of the three commissioners decide the current status quo is unacceptable. Ultimately, you don’t answer to me. You answer to the citizens of Lincoln County. You can leave this meeting and choose to look the other way and allow the concerns I have raised to remain beneath the shadows, or you can seek the truth and investigate the repeated conduct as I have requested on three separate occasions over the past five months.

 

As for me, I have done everything within my power to speak out and fight against the corruption in your County Counsel’s Office and Human Resources Department and I am tired of fighting for accountability and transparency when it is not a priority for 2/3rds of the former Board of Commissioners. I am hopeful with Commissioner Chuck joining the Board that things will change, and the majority will be in favor of seeking the truth not covering up the corruption. I know by speaking today I am risking further retaliation. But I am not scared of Kristin Yuille or David Collier, and I will not be controlled or silenced by either of them. If you chose to do nothing, I have no doubt that I will be investigated, and your employees will publish the predetermined results that satisfy their goal to deflect from their own unethical behavior. But I want you to know that I am not going anywhere. I will not be run out of office or pressured to resign. I will continue to show up every single day and advocate for the victims of Lincoln County because that is what the victims of Lincoln County deserve and that is what the people of Lincoln County elected me to do. Being an elected official is not about the power or the title or the photo op. It’s about seeking truth and justice in the face of adversity. It’s about putting others needs above your own self-serving interests. It’s about doing the next right thing regardless of the circumstances or personal consequences. Regardless of the adversity that I face, I will continue to do the next right thing regardless of the personal cost. Will you? 

            I had planned to make a public statement at the April 16, 2025 Board of Commissioner meeting and signed up for public comment. However, before I was able to address the Board and while an individual was providing public comment prior to me, Kristin Yuille advised that the Board of Commissioner’s meeting needed to be abruptly adjourned. Commissioner Chuck then addressed Yuille by stating, “Chair Yuille, I mean Counsel Yuille, is this something we should not be talking about?” After receiving direction from Yuille, Commissioner Chuck moved to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Commissioner Hall. I stood up and asked, “Are you not going to hear from the rest of us?” No one responded to my question. Commissioner Hall, Commissioner Chuck, Yuille, Kenneth Lipp and Kathleen Kelly were directed by Yuille to immediately leave the room and the recording of the meeting was shut off. The recording of this can be found at https://lincolncoor.portal.civicclerk.com/event/2661/media  at time stamp 57:39.

 

            Since Kristin Yuille ended the public meeting prior to my public statement, for which I had signed up to make today, I have included below a copy of my statement that I planned to verbally make to the Board of Commissioners. 

Since October 2024, I have made several formal complaints against Kristin Yuille and David Collier concerning allegations of dishonesty, misrepresentation of authority, misconduct, and retaliatory behavior. Over the past six months, Commissioner Miller has relentlessly sought executive sessions to discuss these allegations with the entire Board, but these requests have been ignored or denied by the very individual sought to be discussed.

 

My most recent request occurred on March 4, 2025, and on March 26, after no response, I made a public statement in hopes that the Board would take action, seek the unbiased truth, and order an external investigation. Since then, instead of investigating Yuille and Collier, Commissioner Hall has empowered Yuille and Collier to self-initiate investigations into three of my employees without any formal complaint and without my knowledge or approval. These investigations were only initiated by Yuille and Collier after I raised concerns regarding Yuille and Collier’s misconduct. Two of my employees were notified of their pending investigations after I spoke publicly about Yuille and Collier on March 26th. This is the very definition of retaliation. And to hear that after all the allegations I have made against Collier that he will decide whether to terminate my employees based on his own self-initiated internal investigations is illogical and unethical. 

 

On top of this, I was advised last Friday by Commissioner Hall that the Board has denied my request for an external investigation into the numerous complaints against Yuille and Collier. I was troubled to learn that this decision was not made by the entire Board, but by Commissioner Hall alone, as the Board still has not met in executive session to discuss the allegations.

 

Why is the BOC refusing to follow its own personnel rules? Why is the BOC refusing to initiate an outside investigation into Yuille and Collier? Are you afraid of what might be uncovered if Yuille and Collier were investigated by an unbiased individual? Would it implicate you in the process? Or are you afraid of the power Yuille and Collier possess to isolate you, mistreat you, and gaslight you? Why are you protecting Yuille and Collier at the expense of your employees? Are you at all aware that County Counsel and Human Resources have been weaponized to silence and retaliate against those who challenge their decisions or speak out against them?

 

Each of you have had 6 weeks to review the allegations and supporting documentation that I submitted. It is time to demonstrate to your employees that your personnel rules apply equally to all County employees, regardless of their position of power.

 

As the elected District Attorney of Lincoln County and as a Lincoln County citizen, I am asking that the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners vote today at this meeting and order an external independent investigation into the alleged personnel violations by Yuille and Collier.

 

            Prior to the Board meeting being adjourned, Commissioner Hall addressed concerns regarding whether she was making Board decisions by herself without Board input in the absence of a County Administrator. Commissioner Hall was adamant that the only decisions she has made unilaterally were administrative in nature. She described these decisions as to “keep the lights on” and things like signing travel vouchers and personnel forms. She was adamant she had not made any decisions that would require the entire Board’s approval. However, last week she unilaterally decided to not authorize an investigation into Yuille and Collier, personally opining that my claims had “no merit” without explanation. This type of unilateral decision does not appear to fall into the category of utility bills and travel vouchers. This should be made by the entire Board after a careful review of the facts, documentation, and exhibits, which include first-hand statements from Lincoln County elected officials at the time of the misconduct. 

 

            Since I spoke at the March 4th Board of Commissioner’s meeting, several County employees outside my department have approached me privately to thank me for speaking out about Yuille and Collier’s misconduct. They have commended my courage to raise concerns against the two most powerful County employees who are manipulating the decision-making process of the Board of Commissioners and harming this County in the process.

 

            Given the Board of Commissioners were unable to hear or respond to my statement today, I am urging the public to demand transparency and accountability and request the Board of Commissioners order an unbiased independent investigation into Yuille and Collier to determine whether there is merit to the allegations I have raised repeatedly regarding their conduct.

 

Recordings of these statements can be located at: https://www.youtube.com/@LincolnCountyDA