John Turner was employed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety as a sworn, full-time highway patrol officer. In October 2008, Turner’s personal psychologist contacted the Department and advised that Turner be temporarily relieved from duty so that he could be treated for psychosis and paranoid schizophrenia, which was causing him to see demons in […]
On September 24, 2007, Travis Quesada was dismissed from his employment with Tampa, Florida Fire Rescue after a second drug test came back positive for suspicious levels of the metabolite 19-norandrosterone. This result suggested that Quesada had taken the anabolic steroid Nandrolone and had been untruthful in his responses to departmental and medical inquiries regarding […]
Under a Supreme Court decision known as Alden v. State of Maine, the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution shields state governments from lawsuits filed by employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A recent Mississippi case tested a slightly different proposition – do the protections of the FLSA apply when employees sue state government […]
The collective bargaining agreement between Genesee County, Michigan and the Police Officer Association of Michigan has a safety clause, providing “the Employer will always consider the personal safety of the employees in establishing operational procedures.” The contract also gives the employer “the right to determine, establish and modify scheduling and manpower requirements, including, but not […]
The most commonly-litigated exception to the principle that arbitration decisions are final and binding is known as the “public policy” exception. In general, the public policy exception only arises when a party clearly shows enforcement of the contract, as interpreted by the arbitrator. In a case involving Decatur, Illinois Police Officer Jeremy Welker, the Illinois […]
John Warren was a sergeant for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. In 2007, Warren stowed an open bottle of vodka in the trunk of his Patrol-issued vehicle and drove to a party. He could have used his personal vehicle, but he elected not to because he was concerned that he would wake his aunt […]
After serving for 26 years with the New York City Police Department and for brief stints with the U.S. Mint Police and the U.S. Federal Protective Service, Joseph O’Rourke joined the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department in 2001. He was then 52 years old. O’Rourke was assigned to the Third District, where he served […]
Michael Pruitt was the first African-American Fire Chief for the City of Longview, Texas. After he was terminated from this position, he filed suit against the Longview Professional Firefighters Association, Local 4331 of the IAFF, as well as several officers of the union. Pruitt alleged that Local 4331 “initiated a public campaign targeted to undermine […]
David Briese was a member of the Montana Sheriffs Retirement System as a result of his employment as a deputy sheriff for Yellowstone County. The System is governed by the Montana Public Employees Retirement Board. In 2001, David designated his wife Erene Briese as his primary beneficiary under the System’s plan. In 2004, David filed […]
The Iron Horsemen is a nationwide outlaw motorcycle gang that has been based in Cincinnati for about 40 years. The gang deals in drugs, weapons, and prostitution. In the 1980s, threats and tension between the Iron Horsemen and the Cincinnati police were prevalent. One of the members of the Iron Horsemen had created a 12-gauge […]
