Uproar after Griffith Park volunteer board member accused of ‘inappropriate’ behavior

Accusations of sexual harassment have roiled the country from Hollywood to Capitol Hill in recent months, toppling politicians, celebrities and other famous figures.

Now they have spurred alarm among Griffith Park community activists, who argue that a Los Angeles city investigation over alleged misconduct has unfairly tarred a local volunteer.

Last week, the Department of Recreation and Parks informed Chris Laib, who sits on volunteer boards that advise the city about Griffith Park and the Greek Theatre, that its investigation found he had engaged in “inappropriate behavior” toward a city staffer during a community event.

The letter, first reported by the Los Feliz Ledger, did not detail what had happened, but said that the parks department had received complaints from “third parties” about the incident. Laib said he was informed that the allegations involved hitting a female staffer with a plate on her backside.

Laib said the staffer had jokingly tried to cut ahead of him in line for breakfast at the event. He said he motioned her away with his plastic plate before they hugged.

“I may have tapped her on the hip, not the rear end,” he said. “We hugged again before we left.

“How could that be construed as sexual harassment?” Laib asked.

Both the staffer and a member of the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners, who was identified by others as having witnessed the incident, declined to comment Monday.

The parks department spoke to “relevant witnesses,” including Laib, and reviewed a video as part of its investigation, according to the letter. The letter said his behavior violated a code of conduct that requires park advisory board members to act “in a professional manner at all times” and treat staff and the public with respect.

It is unclear what action might be taken. Laib, who was appointed to the Greek Theatre Advisory Committee earlier this year by Mayor Eric Garcetti, has not been removed from that or the Griffith Park Advisory Board, according to city officials. In its letter, the parks department stated that the findings would be referred to “executive management” for their review.

“The Department of Recreation and Parks investigated the complaint filed against him, and that investigation has been completed,” Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar said in an email. “We have notified the people involved of the findings, and are working with them to determine the best path forward for everyone.”

Before the investigation was finished, Laib initially turned in a written letter of resignation from the Greek Theatre Advisory Committee, then decided soon afterward to rescind his resignation.

Laib said he made a “reflexive” decision to resign after being contacted about the allegation from a senior aide to City Councilman David Ryu. He said he then changed his mind after hearing secondhand that the head of the parks department, Michael Shull, also wanted him off the board of Friends of the Observatory, a nonprofit that supports the city attraction in Griffith Park.

“This was used as an opportunity to get rid of me,” Laib said, citing his outspoken stands on park issues, including challenging an early proposal to hold Olympic biking events in Griffith Park and opposing the initial selection of Live Nation to run the Greek Theatre three years ago.

Parks department spokeswoman Rose Watson denied that Shull had sought to get Laib removed from Friends of the Observatory, which is not run by the city, and said that “the issue at hand is strictly to do with the complaint — and that’s it.”

Three leading members of the Griffith Park Advisory Board, which provides community input on the operation of Griffith Park, have resigned in protest. In a letter, vice chair Don Seligman called the investigation “a reckless and vindictive campaign by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.”

“I have witnessed the besmirching of a stellar reputation of a dear friend … without any due process or formal hearing,” Seligman wrote in an email to other board members and city staff, announcing his resignation.

Susan Swan, who had been chair of the group, wrote that she was “alternately appalled and horrified.” And Kris Sullivan, who was its secretary, called it “underhanded treatment.”

As they announced they were stepping down, Swan and Sullivan also complained that their concerns about protecting the park from commercialization and misuse were not being properly addressed.

“We have been chastened when we speak up and encouraged to be noncontroversial and not to be a ‘watchdog,’” Sullivan wrote.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlpertReyes