City commissioners in Stuart are facing another tough decision. On Monday, they will decide whether to accept the findings of an independent investigation into the city's former mayor.
The investigation released Thursday accuses Eula Clarke, who is still a city commissioner, of saying numerous offensive comments to police.
The report developed from interviews with city staff claims Clarke went up to the chief after a commission meeting and asked, "How many black men have your officers shot today?”
Also concerning the chief, the report says Clarke regularly made comments about him, a white man, raising a black child. It says Clarke referred to the scenario as a "social experiment."
Clark resigned from her position as mayor after several people called for her to step down. She was first accused of calling an officer a "pig."
Clarke did not want to go on camera about the report, but her attorney released a statement saying "Commissioner Clarke is very upset by the things said in the report. She never intended to harass anyone."
Clarke denies ever calling a policeman a "pig" or making any other anti-police comments. Her attorney went on to say "the images of her created by this report are not true images of Commissioner Clarke."
The report does not name the employees interviewed or provide the context the alleged comments were made. Clarke declined to participate in the investigation.
City attorney Mike Mortell says the report concludes the commissioner did not violate any city policies because she is not a city employee. The exemption of elected officials as it relates to city behavior and conduct policies came as a shock to other commissioners.
"They were surprised as well that the employee manual did not apply to commissioners," said Mortell.
Mortell says commissioners plan to create a code of ethics that will hold elected officials to higher standards.