Detroit, Michigan - Cop may get whistleblower protection
Court ponders if ex-Detroit officer, who says he was illegally fired after Kilpatrick probe, is covered by law.
Charlie Cain. Detroit News Lansing Bureau. 05/11/07
Two former Detroit cops say their lives were turned upside down after they investigated allegations of wrongdoing by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and members of his security detail four years ago.
Neither has been able to find a job, money is tight, and fears of physical reprisal won't go away.
"It's been very difficult. I have a daughter in college and financially it's been a burden," said Gary Brown, 53, a deputy chief when Kilpatrick fired him in 2003.
"I have applied for jobs and certainly anybody who does business with the city doesn't want to jeopardize that business by hiring me," he said Thursday outside the Michigan Supreme Court.
The high court is being asked to decide if Brown -- who claims he was illegally fired -- is covered by the state's Whistleblower Protection Act.
Brown had been told by another ex-Detroit cop, Harold Nelthrope, that members of the security detail submitted phony claims for overtime pay, drank on duty and covered up accidents involving police vehicles.
Nelthrope, who left the department a short time later, also reported a rumored party in the mayor's city-owned mansion that featured nude dancers.
The administration made public that it was Nelthrope behind the allegations. He said that subjected him and his family to potential retaliation from cops and those fears still linger.
"Most definitely. I had to move out of the city," said Nelthrope, 51.
Kilpatrick denied he had engaged in any misconduct. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox looked into it and found no evidence of a tawdry party.
The Court of Appeals ruled last July the two men's multimillion-dollar suit against the mayor and city could continue. The city appealed to the Supreme Court, and its attorney, Morley Witus, Thursday argued Brown is not covered by the whistleblowers law because "he was simply doing his job."
The Supreme Court is under no deadline to act.
You can reach Charlie Cain at (517) 371-3660 or ccain@detnews.com.
Retrieved May 29, 2007 from http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/METRO01/705110384
Charlie Cain. Detroit News Lansing Bureau. 05/11/07
Two former Detroit cops say their lives were turned upside down after they investigated allegations of wrongdoing by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and members of his security detail four years ago.
Neither has been able to find a job, money is tight, and fears of physical reprisal won't go away.
"It's been very difficult. I have a daughter in college and financially it's been a burden," said Gary Brown, 53, a deputy chief when Kilpatrick fired him in 2003.
"I have applied for jobs and certainly anybody who does business with the city doesn't want to jeopardize that business by hiring me," he said Thursday outside the Michigan Supreme Court.
The high court is being asked to decide if Brown -- who claims he was illegally fired -- is covered by the state's Whistleblower Protection Act.
Brown had been told by another ex-Detroit cop, Harold Nelthrope, that members of the security detail submitted phony claims for overtime pay, drank on duty and covered up accidents involving police vehicles.
Nelthrope, who left the department a short time later, also reported a rumored party in the mayor's city-owned mansion that featured nude dancers.
The administration made public that it was Nelthrope behind the allegations. He said that subjected him and his family to potential retaliation from cops and those fears still linger.
"Most definitely. I had to move out of the city," said Nelthrope, 51.
Kilpatrick denied he had engaged in any misconduct. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox looked into it and found no evidence of a tawdry party.
The Court of Appeals ruled last July the two men's multimillion-dollar suit against the mayor and city could continue. The city appealed to the Supreme Court, and its attorney, Morley Witus, Thursday argued Brown is not covered by the whistleblowers law because "he was simply doing his job."
The Supreme Court is under no deadline to act.
You can reach Charlie Cain at (517) 371-3660 or ccain@detnews.com.
Retrieved May 29, 2007 from http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/METRO01/705110384