 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Police chief declines to reinstate officer
By MIKE BRASSFIELD © St. Petersburg Times, published August 16, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- Police Chief Goliath Davis III has decided not to reinstate a fired police officer, despite the recommendations of city labor officials. In a rare move, labor officials disagreed with the chief last week and told him he should reinstate former officer David Sugar, who was fired July 5. Now Davis has told city officials to forget it, and the police officers' union is questioning whether Davis has the authority to make that call. Sugar, a patrol officer for 10 years, was fired after his supervisors decided he had lied to the Police Department about whether another officer had used excessive force during an arrest. The city's labor relations officials then reviewed Sugar's case and came to the opposite conclusion; they saw no evidence that Sugar had lied. "The city found that I did nothing wrong. If I were an employee in any other part of the city right now, I'd already be back at work," Sugar said. "I guess the chief pretty much does what he wants nowadays." City hearing officers typically side with the Police Department rather than with officers who have been disciplined. But hearing officer Rose McCormick examined Sugar's case and recommended that Sugar get his job back. Julie Upman, the city's labor relations manager, concurred with the recommendation. Sugar's union, the Police Benevolent Association, contends that city labor officials shouldn't have to "recommend" anything. Instead, the PBA insists, the labor officials' decision should be final and binding under the collective bargaining agreement that spells out the wages, hours and working conditions of St. Petersburg police officers. "The word "recommendation' appears nowhere in the contract between the PBA and the city," said PBA executive director Bill LauBach. "The chief is not a party to that contract, and he does not have the right to do this." Davis and other city officials couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. But the chief made it clear last week that he didn't consider the city labor officials' findings to be the final word on the subject. Davis said he would discuss those findings with Sugar's supervisors. If he and the other supervisors decided not to bring Sugar back, then the case would go to the next step -- a labor arbitrator. "That's the process," Davis said then. In a memo Monday to the entire Police Department, the police chief said he and Sugar's supervisors hadn't changed their minds about Sugar. Next, the PBA will continue the fight on three different fronts. The union will: Take Sugar's case to arbitration. File a class-action grievance against the city. Complain to the Public Employee Relations Commission, a state regulatory agency, that the city is engaging in unfair labor practices. "The city decided to reinstate Sugar, but it's not telling the chief to reinstate Sugar," LauBach said. As for Sugar, he's still out of job. "I thought I'd be back to work and I'm not. I don't know what to make of it," he said. "The chief works for the city the same as I do, doesn't he? I think he's starting to make it kind of personal. I don't see what the big issue is, other than the fact that maybe his ego has gotten trampled on a little bit."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
