CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Councilman Joe Jones allegedly threatened to kill a staff member earlier this year, according to a letter from city council leadership that was released Thursday morning.
The letter said the council will vote to censure Jones at their September meeting as a result of an investigative report's findings regarding his conduct.
Read the letter below:
The investigation concluded Jones likely violated the city's policies involving its workplace violence policy and standards of conduct.
"City hall is a tense environment and, at times, ... tempers flare, however it is totally unacceptable, specially where you have one of your subordinates, where you are accused of bullying or any kind of workplace violence," Blaine Griffin, President, Cleveland City Council President said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
"I'm committed to creating a positive, safe, and accountable work environment," he said.
The accusations against Jones stem from two incidents that both occurred on May 19.
A staff member wrote that Jones said "I'll f___ing kill you" three times during a meeting with a longtime council staff member.
The last time, Jones said, "I'll f___ing kill you on your motorcycle," according to the staff member.
Then, later that day, Jones was recorded on camera during a city council meeting, sitting in the seat next to a woman who had previously accused him of bullying her, even though he had been ordered to have no contact with her.
An outside firm investigated the incidents and determined both witnesses were credible, according to the letter.
Jones was also ordered to undergo one-on-one workplace conduct and threat awareness training.
Jones was removed from his committee assignments in January after a separate investigation into six incidents involving complaints of bullying and harassment, according to the letter.
He also received one-on-one training about workplace conduct.
"We tried to make sure we mitigated this situation a long time ago," Griffin said.
Watch more:
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Ward 12 Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer also spoke during the news conference.
"These threats are beyond the pale," she said. "This reporting also underscores the disturbing pattern of council member Joe Jones' inappropriate, unprofessional, and even threatening behavior."
She disagreed with Griffin's assessment that complaints against Jones were handled "swiftly."
Jones delayed an interview with investigators about the the two incidents in May until earllier this week.
"It's clear that Joe Jones was given an endless set of chances to be a team player, including delaying an interview that would have finalized this report months ago," she said.
News 5 Investigators reached out to Joe Jones Thursday morning.
He said he was "shocked" and "traumatized" by the allegations against him. He said, "he loves the person" who accused him of threatening to kill them and "he would never hurt anyone."
