The top-ranking official at the National Park Service has apologized for behaving “in an inappropriate manner in a public hallway” in the wake of an inspector general’s investigation into an anonymous allegation that the official had made a gesture involving his genitalia in front of other employees.
As The Washington Post first reported, an anonymous agency employee wrote to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in March to describe how Smith shortly after taking office as the Park Service’s deputy director “grabbed his crotch and his penis and acted out as though he was urinating on the wall.” A witness to the alleged crude gesture said it took place while Smith was telling a story to another employee at the headquarters of the Interior Department, which houses the Park Service.
“I am not a prude,” the letter writer told Zinke, “but still cannot believe he was acting this out in the hallway of the NPS.” Zinke referred the matter to the department’s inspector general, who opened a probe in March.
The Park Service’s own internal survey has identified sexual harassment as a widespread problem within the agency, which oversees more than 84 million acres of park land through the United States. Since taking the helm of Interior, Zinke has pledged to root out harassment in his department. Last year, he fired four Interior employees for inappropriate behavior and has told Congress he would fire more people if necessary.
In his apology note, Smith said he was sorry to that anonymous employee and anyone else who witnessed the incident.
“Workplace culture is our shared responsibility,” Smith wrote. “We must conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects the great pride we all have for the extraordinary parks and programs we represent.”
He insisted that his behavior did not constitute sexual harassment. “I recognize that the story was inappropriate for the workplace, even though it does not rise to the level of harassment,” Smith wrote. “I am very sorry for my mistake in telling this story and any discomfort it clearly caused.”
Still, the Office of the Inspector General has yet to publicly weigh in. The watchdog bureau has completed its report and submitted it to Interior officials but will only make it public “at the end of June,” spokeswoman Nancy K. DiPaolo said.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination, the legal definition of sexual harassment includes “verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature” that creates “an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.”
The Park Service did not add anything further to Smith’s apology when reached for comment. “Smith’s message to National Park Service employees speaks for itself,” NPS spokesman Jeremy Barnum said.
Smith is the highest-ranking NPS employee because President Trump has still not named a nominee to run the agency after 500 days in office.
