Branchflower offers a clear defense of his application of the statute to this case on p.66:

“Such impermissible and repeated contacts create conflicts of interest for subordinate employees who must choose to either please a superior or run the risk of facing that superior’s displeasure and the possible consequences of such displeasure. This was one of the very reasons the Ethics Act was promulgated by the legislature”

It was not Monegan who punished Wooten’s tasering of a boy with a four day suspension – that didn’t happen on his watch. It is clear from the report that Monegan was pressured to compensate for this ‘slap on the wrist’ by finding some other reason to fire Wooten.

I’ve had friends put in this position. The boss says “We would be better off without this person, let’s find a reason to fire them.” Public employees should not be pressured to follow the personal agenda of the executive when making personnel decisions, however well-intentioned that personal agenda may be.