Park Service boss apologizes to staff for 'inappropriate' behavior

The top-ranking official at the National Park Service (NPS) apologized to the agency’s employees Friday for behaving “in an inappropriate manner in a public hallway” earlier this year. P. Daniel Smith, who Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke named to the post in January, apologized both to employees who witnessed the behavior and the rest of the staff in an email obtained by The Hill. “As a leader, I must hold myself to the highest standard of behavior in the workplace,” Smith wrote in the staff-wide email, which was sent on Friday afternoon. “I take my responsibility to create and maintain a respectful, collegial work environment very seriously. Moving forward, I promise to do better.” An employee anonymously complained to Zinke that he or she witnessed Smith grabbing his own genitalia in a hallway at the Interior headquarters in January, the Washington Post reported in March. The complaint said Smith “grabbed his crotch and his penis and acted out as though he was urinating on the wall.” The Post said It wasn’t clear to the employee whether or not he intended the gesture to be sexual. Zinke’s office referred the matter to the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which took it up. Smith said in his email that the OIG completed its investigation, but he did not say the outcome of it. “I was overheard recounting an experience in Alaska while having a hallway conversation in the [NPS headquarters] offices,” he told employees. “I hope that my mistake and this apology are a lesson for leaders and employees at every level of the National Park Service. Workplace culture is our shared responsibility. We must conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects the great pride we all have for the extraordinary parks and programs we represent,” Smith continued...MORE