TERMINATED
UPLAND POLICE OFFICER REINSTATED
By
Saku E. Ethir
LACKIE & DAMMEIER
Police
Officer Jeffrey Stanley was terminated from the Upland Police Department
on July 29, 2004. At the
time of his termination, Stanley had been a police officer with the City
of Upland for approximately four years. Stanley was terminated after an internal affairs
investigation was conducted, and resulted in sustained Upland Police
Department policy violations of Dishonesty, Conduct Unbecoming an
Officer, Respect and Respect for Superiors.
The investigation and sustained charges stemmed from statements
made by Stanley, following an attempt by Stanley to lateral to a local
police department.
In
early 2004, Stanley applied to the local police agency.
At the conclusion of the application process, Stanley learned,
from a source at the lateral agency, that a supervisor at the Upland
Police Department had made a negative comment about him to background
investigators, which resulted in him being disqualified as a candidate.
Stanley, upon inquiries from other employees at Upland, shared
this information with them.
Stanley
was subsequently approached by two of his superiors and interrogated
about the above information. Stanley
advised the supervisors of the information he had been provided, by his
source, at the lateral agency. The
then Chief of Police, Martin E. Thouvenell, terminated Stanley for the
above charges (the most serious being dishonesty), essentially finding
that no supervisor at Upland had made a negative comment about Stanley
to the lateral agency, thus Stanley had made up that information and
lied.
Stanley,
represented by Lackie & Dammeier, appealed his termination under the
applicable rules and regulations. Numerous
days of hearing were anticipated due to the involvement of another
police department, as well as the sensitive rules surrounding the
confidentiality of background investigations conducted by police
departments. Day one
began with opening statements and concluded with numerous
City/Department witnesses. Day
two was to be more of the same, but was also expected to include
testimony from witnesses from the lateral police agency.
At
the start of Day two Stanley and his attorney were approached by the
City, and their counsel, and informed that the City had just learned,
from the lateral agency and documents in the lateral agency’s
possession, that a negative comment had in fact been made by an Upland
supervisor, about Stanley, to background investigators.
The City conceded that Stanley had not been dishonest.
As a result of the new information, the City requested, and was
granted, a continuance by the presiding arbitrator, to re-evaluate their
case. Soon thereafter, the
City, and newly appointed Chief of Police Steve Adams, advised Stanley
that the City had dropped all of the charges against Stanley.
This can be viewed as an example of a Chief of Police doing the
right thing, and admitting when a wrong has been committed, in this
case, by the prior Chief.
Stanley
has since been reinstated to his position of police officer with the
Upland Police Department, and has been made whole in the form of wages
and benefits. This was a
very difficult time and process for Stanley, who thanks his family and
LDF for their constant support.
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