Jared A. Smout, administrator of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Phoenix, was terminated by its board of trustees at a special meeting Wednesday following a review of harassment allegations, said Christian Palmer, spokesman for the $10 billion pension fund, in an email.
The board unanimously voted 8-0 to terminate Mr. Smout, "a decision we could not in good conscience avoid," said board Chairman William T. Buividas in the news release.
Mr. Smout had been on administrative leave since April, following sexual and other workplace harassment allegations filed by a former employee in February. At a special executive session on March 13, the board voted to work with the Arizona Department of Administration and the Arizona attorney general's office to hire an independent law firm to review the complaint. The attorney general's office hired the undisclosed firm on March 18 to conduct the review.
In a July 15 letter summarizing the review, Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson, interim director of the Arizona Department of Administration, said the allegations included inappropriate staring, text messages and physical contact with the former employee, as well as "spying" on other fellow employees.
Bret Parke, the pension fund's assistant administrator and general counsel, has been serving as acting administrator. Whether he will continue in that role could not be immediately learned.
Mr. Smout had been administrator of the pension fund since March 2015. He had previously been interim administrator of the pension fund since the July 2014 termination of previous administrator James Hacking for initiating salary increases for some investment staff without proper approval.
Mr. Smout could not be reached for comment.
