KING COUNTY, WA — The Metropolitan King County Council on Tuesday voted to significantly scale back the autonomy of the county sheriff, moving to make the position appointed, rather than elected, and to give the County Council the ability to reduce the scope of the Sheriff’s Office. Both changes, approved by the County Council on […]
UTICA, NY — The New York State Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the City of Utica, after they were sued by a former firefighter for back pay. In September of 2019, Richard Forte was convicted of criminal mischief and criminal tampering for performing a lewd act against a female firefighter, after she found bodily fluids […]
LINCOLN, NE — The city has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a Lincoln Fire & Rescue captain’s federal lawsuit alleging he faced retaliation and was passed up for a promotion after reporting harassment of female firefighters. Capt. Brian Giles was to get $279,671, and his attorney $220,329. The city wasn’t admitting liability or wrongdoing […]
NORTH CHICAGO, IL — The city of North Chicago is attempting to revoke the pensions of three retired police officers who were disabled after being injured on the job. The move comes after the city invoked a rarely – if ever – used provision in state law that allows it to recall retired officers in […]
On August 2, 2017, while employed as a corrections officer at New York State’s Edgecombe Correctional Facility, Sergeant Jason Froelich responded to an incident involving a parolee who was attempting to swallow contraband and resisting the efforts of several other corrections officers to restrain him. Froelich sustained injuries to his lower back, neck and right […]
Salik Bey and three of his colleagues are African-American men who were employed as firefighters by the Fire Department of the City of New York. They suffer from Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB), a physiological condition that causes disfigurement of the skin in the hair-bearing areas of the chin, cheek, and neck and which affects approximately 45% […]
It is rare for a labor organization to be able to obtain an injunction to prevent a future contract violation. A decision from the Illinois Appellate Court involving the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge No. 7 provides one example of why. Since about 2009, most patrol officers in the Chicago Police Department have had […]
The Management & Training Corporation (MTC) operates the Otero County Prison near Chaparral, New Mexico, for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A group of corrections officers sued MTC alleging that MTC’s pre- and post-shift practices violated both the Fair Labor Standards Act and New Mexico’s minimum wage law. The officers generally work eight-hour shifts, […]
Eric Reamy was a sergeant with the Glen Rock Police Department in New Jersey. From 2011 to 2015, Reamy wrongfully and without authorization sold four rifles and three handguns that he improperly removed from the Department’s evidence locker. In 2015, Reamy was the juvenile officer for the Department. He began sexting on his work cellphone […]
Larry Moreau, Jr., was a captain with the St. Landry Fire Protection District No. 3 in Louisiana. In May 2017, Moreau was accused of refusing to participate in a fire training exercise. At a pre-disciplinary hearing before the District’s Board, Moreau explained that he did not participate because of an on-the-job injury that he failed […]
The Boston Police Department requires officers who return from extended leave, regardless of the nature of their leave, to undergo medical and psychological examinations before returning to work. Two officers, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation sued the Department alleging disability discrimination under […]
Carlos Melo served for 19 years as a police officer in Somerville, Massachusetts. In 2002, he suffered an injury that ultimately resulted in a loss of almost all vision in his left eye. Not long after the injury, physicians cleared him to return to duty without restriction. In 2007, after serving several years as a […]
Ruben Orozco died in his patrol car on September 17, 2005, while driving on the I-10 expressway that runs through El Paso, Texas. He was killed instantly when a wheel from another vehicle came loose and crashed through his windshield. At the time of his death, Orozco was a sergeant with the El Paso County […]
In June 2017, Gila County, Arizona deputy sheriff John France and another deputy were dispatched to a residence to investigate a person threatening to kill himself with a shotgun. When they arrived at the house, a man burst through the doorway between them, holding a shotgun in a shooting stance.The man rushed toward France, his […]
