Andrew Kline is a police officer with the Township of Uwchlan in Pennsylvania. On October 26, 2018, Kline, Officer Warren Obenski and Sergeant David Balben responded to a domestic violence call. While at the caller’s residence, Obenski seized a black duffel bag on the suspicion that it contained illegal drugs. After arriving at the police station, Obenski processed the bag and reminded Kline that it could not be opened…
The City of Newton, Massachusetts and the Newton Police Association are parties to a collective bargaining agreement. When a dispute broke out between them as to whether officers should receive “cancellation fees” when paid details were cancelled on a last-minute basis, the Association challenged the City’s position in arbitration. An arbitrator sided with the Association, awarding late cancellation fees to three officers for their detail work. The City challenged…
The City of Columbus, Ohio and Local 67 of the IAFF are parties to a collective bargaining agreement. On October 19, 2015, the City indicated that it had decided to civilianize 17 special assignments then filled by uniformed firefighters, including positions as coordinators in programs known as as Fitness, Special Events, Training, Community Relations and Video and the Public CPR trainer. An arbitrator upheld Local 67’s grievance challenging the…
A 17-year veteran police officer working for Columbus, Ohio, referred to only as Officer A, was the subject of an internal affairs complaint. Three different women – Ms. B, Ms. C, and Ms. D – alleged they had sex with Officer A in exchange for cash while he was on duty as a Columbus police officer. All three women reported independent recollections of the encounters with Officer A, and…
City of Columbus, Ohio and Local 67 of the IAFF are parties to a collective bargaining agreement. In 2015, the City notified the Local that it intended to civilianize 17 positions. When Local 67 filed a grievance over the civilianization, the matter ended up in arbitration. The Arbitrator found that language in Section 7.2 of the collective bargaining agreement, wherein the City’s agreement “to not civilianize any fire prevention,…
The collective bargaining agreement between Local 146 of the IAFF and the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts provides that the City must require a fire watch detail at the site of any demolition work in its boundary. The agreement contains provisions requiring the City to “act as custodian of the funds collected as a result of Fire Watch Duty” and to create an escrow account “for payment of all detail…
Adrian Rodriguez became a Miami police officer in 2007. In 2012, the City’s homicide unit received a tip that Rodriguez’s brother and father may have been involved in a homicide in 2007. In 2013, based on the results of an Internal Affairs investigation, Rodriguez was relieved of duty with pay. While on relieved-duty, Rodriguez was observed violating the terms of his relieved-duty status. In 2016, the City terminated Rodriguez….
In 2011 and 2012, Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents officers in the Chicago Police Department, filed grievances seeking the destruction of disciplinary records older than five years. Section 8.4 of the Lodge’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) provides that “all disciplinary investigation files, disciplinary history card entries, Independent Police Review Authority and Internal Affairs Division disciplinary records, and any other disciplinary record or summary of…
Sean Gannon was a firefighter for the City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Local 1261 of the IAFF represents the City’s firefighters. The City terminated Gannon in November 2013 and Local 1261 challenged the termination decision through the arbitration process. After several days of hearings, the Arbitrator rendered a decision on March 2, 2016, finding in favor of the City. When Local 1261 elected not to challenge the Arbitrator’s decision…
Massachusetts courts have had a difficult time achieving consistency as to when an arbitrator’s opinion may be overturned because it violates “public policy.” The difficulties have particularly been evident in how the courts have dealt with arbitrators’ opinions involving the termination of police officers for dishonesty. In a 2005 decision involving Boston police, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts seemingly took a broad view of the court’s ability to…
Rank-and-file police officers in the City of Waterbury, Connecticut are represented by the Brass City Local of the Connecticut Alliance of City Police. On November 10, 2016, an interest arbitrator set the terms for the parties’ 2012-2017 collective bargaining agreement. One of the issues in arbitration involved extra-duty work. The relevant contract clause specified that certain rates of pay for extra-duty work would be “effective upon signing of this…
Arthur Herder began work for the Philadelphia Police Department in 1993. Herder received a 30-day suspension in 2007 for vandalizing his wife’s vehicle. In 2012, the City twice suspended Herder for abusing his authority while off duty. The City also twice transferred Herder for threatening behavior toward his coworkers. In January 2015, the City learned of a road rage incident in Cheltenham Township, a neighboring municipality. During the incident,…
Following his assignment to Troop M of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Trooper Craig Acord became romantically involved with Trooper Rachel Jones. After their relationship ended in 2014, Jones filed several complaints against Acord, alleging harassing behavior. As a result, Acord was issued a Supervisor’s Notation instructing him to cease communications with Trooper Jones and was the subject of two internal and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) investigations relating to…
For years, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Hudson County, New Jersey and Local 109 of the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) has had a provision that “the PBA president shall be granted reasonable release time from work duties to attend to union business during work time, provided that such release time shall in no way interfere with the operation or normal routine of the correctional facility or any other…
Detective Vincent Lucarelli works for the Cleveland, Ohio Police Department. In May 2012, the Department’s Internal Affairs Unit commenced an investigation into Lucarelli’s conduct. Cell phone records, which had been subpoenaed for a criminal case involving private investigator Brenda Bickerstaff, revealed that during his shifts, Lucarelli had been inappropriately texting or “sexting” women, including the victims in several criminal cases on which he had worked or was currently working….
Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police represents police officers in the Chicago Police Department. Prior to 2015, the Department had no policy banning the display of visible tattoos. Neither Lodge 7 nor the City had ever raised the topic of tattoo regulation during bargaining. On June 8, 2015, the Department issued a revised “Personal Appearance, Uniform/Citizen’s Dress and Equipment” Policy. Among other things, the new Policy regulates…
With few exceptions, when a collective bargaining agreement says that an arbitrator’s decision is final and binding, courts will say just that and uphold an arbitrator’s decision even if they thoroughly disagree with the result. But one state – Rhode Island – treats arbitrations, or at least disciplinary arbitrations in law enforcement agencies, completely differently. For Rhode Island courts, those arbitrations are much more like advisory opinions, not binding…
The “Laurie List” is a version of a “Brady list” used in some New Hampshire jurisdictions (it is named after a decision of the New Hampshire Supreme Court in State v. Laurie, 139 N.H. 325, 329 (1995)). For example, the Hillsborough County Attorney keeps a list of police officers with potentially exculpatory information in their personnel files or elsewhere. Officers are added to the list when a police chief…
On October 29, 2008, while he was employed as a patrol officer with the Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, Police Department, Patsy Peretta temporarily disrobed himself at a local bar. The City fired Peretta, and his labor organization, the Beaver Falls Police Association, challenged the termination in arbitration. An arbitrator converted the termination into a one-year disciplinary suspension without pay and ordered the City to reinstate Peretta promptly and without loss…
Over the last decade, the United States Supreme Court has significantly tightened up on the standards for what constitutes sexual harassment. It is no overstatement to say that what might have been considered a very viable sexual harassment claim ten years ago might now be flatly rejected by the courts. It was inevitable that the changing definition of sexual harassment would find its way into disciplinary cases. A recent…
In August 2009, the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts laid off a number of employees, including Michael Delaney, who had been employed as a dispatcher at the Fire Department since November of 2005. At the time of the layoff, Delaney was not the least senior employee in the Department; there was another non-uniformed employee, a mechanic, who had less seniority than Delaney. The Fire Chief believed that the layoff of…
In July 2011, Sergeant Michael Matala was terminated from his employment with the Trenton, Ohio Police Department stemming from six alleged violations of the Department’s Code of Conduct. The events leading to Matala’s termination began on May 16, 2010, when Matala issued a traffic citation to Melissa Green for running a red light. Matala later learned that the traffic citation had been “voided” by Lieutenant Michael Gillen. Matala sent…
Burlington County, New Jersey is party to a collective bargaining agreement with Local 249 of the Police Benevolent Association. The sick leave section of the contract provides that “if it is reasonably suspected that the employee is abusing the sick leave privilege, the Jail Administrator may require the employee seeking leave to submit proof of illness. If the employee fails to provide proof of illness, the employee shall suffer…
Jessie Hubbard was a corrections officer with 15 years of experience at the Lebanon, Ohio Correctional Institution. The office of Governor John Kasich received an anonymous letter complaining of Hubbard’s harassing behavior. Attached to the letter were several Facebook posts made by Hubbard about Kasich, who had spearheaded the eventually unsuccessful drive to virtually eliminate public employee collective bargaining in Ohio. One of Hubbard’s posts read: “OK, we got…
Officer Patrick Brown is a member of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association. Brown was sued by Frank Angelone, who alleged that the off-duty Brown assaulted him during an altercation that occurred outside of the Cleveland Police Department’s territorial jurisdiction. That altercation occurred after Brown, incensed by the antics of the driver of a vehicle that Angelone occupied, followed the vehicle in his personal car, culminating with Brown confronting and…
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