Ethics - Whistleblowing - Springfield Illinois
Kardasz: The following article describes an incident of alleged retalition after a whistleblowing incident in Springfield Illinois.
Vose sues city's top police officials -Says they punished him because he exposed misconduct
By Jayette Bolinski, Published Thursday, February 02, 2006
A veteran Springfield Illinois police officer who resigned in January filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against two of his former bosses alleging they violated his right to free speech after he blew the whistle on misconduct by detectives in the now-disbanded Major Case Unit.
Sgt. Ron Vose's suit against Police Chief Don Kliment and Deputy Division Chief Bill Rouse accuses them of retaliating by reprimanding him and moving him from supervising the drug unit to working in the patrol division. The lawsuit seeks $300,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages, as well as attorneys' fees.
It states that Vose learned during the summer of 2004 that major case detectives were using "trash rips" - going through a person's garbage to find evidence of drugs or criminal activity - to obtain search warrants for buildings. Concerned that the rips could compromise his unit's drug investigations, Vose inspected search warrant applications sought by major case detectives, as well as the warrants themselves, and determined that some detectives were not following departmental and legal procedures.
Vose alleges that the detectives "filed factually inaccurate, misleading or false affidavits with the courts in support of the detectives' applications for search warrants." He also charges that detectives did not properly document confidential sources, even though tips from the sources were being used to obtain search warrants and the sources were being paid cash for information.
According to the suit, Vose took his concerns to his superiors, including Kliment and Rouse, and was assured they would be addressed. However, he says, nothing was done.
Tension between Vose and major case detectives apparently came to a head in November 2004 during the trial of Anthony Grimm, the man ultimately acquitted of strangling 19-year-old Tonia Smith on New Year's Day 1994. Vose says he told Rouse that detectives he had raised concerns about were going to testify in court and that there could be a problem with their testimony.
Rouse allegedly told Vose that he did not have time to go to the trial but that Vose should go and report back to him.
During the course of the trial, Vose "learned that documents in the possession and control of the ... police department had not been turned over prior to trial to the defendant's attorney, including documents in the files of the one of the detectives," according to the suit. While at the courthouse, a detective - allegedly Jim Graham, though he is not mentioned by name in the lawsuit - confronted Vose and accused him of working for Grimm's defense.
An internal affairs complaint regarding the altercation was filed against Vose by the major case detectives and their supervisor, and Vose received a written reprimand on May 17.
Vose's suit charges that Rouse and Kliment soon after that revised work schedules and assigned an additional sergeant, Kurt Banks, to the drug unit to handle "administrative matters." It also states that Rouse ordered Vose in December 2004 to compose a memo outlining his allegations against the major case detectives. The memo, about 20 pages long, was hand-delivered to Kliment on March 2.
On April 12, Vose met with Kliment, Rouse, Banks and a lieutenant and allegedly was told by Kliment to "either get along with the detectives and supervisors about whom (Vose) had voiced concern or to request a transfer out of the narcotics unit."
According to the lawsuit, Vose met with Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin on April 14 to make sure he, too, was aware of Vose's concerns. On April 15, apparently believing he could no longer get along with the detectives and supervisors, Vose delivered a memo to Kliment regarding a transfer, noting that he "considered the transfer to be a forced transfer and not voluntary on his part."
Three days later, he found two empty cardboard boxes with his name on them outside his office. "The obvious message to Vose ... was that (he) was going to be sent packing," the lawsuit states.
Vose also was reprimanded for being late turning in to Kliment his memo regarding the ultimatum he allegedly was given regarding getting along with his colleagues.
On April 27, he was transferred out of the narcotics unit to a second-shift patrol job, a move he considers a demotion. Vose, who had been with the Springfield Police Department for 27 years, hired an attorney and resigned Jan. 19. Vose's allegations, at least in part, led to an investigation of the department by Illinois State Police. The probe, which sources have said is criminal in nature, has been ongoing for several months. In addition, a local judge, a Springfield attorney, a private investigator and a federal appellate court opinion all have called into question the Major Case Unit's investigative techniques and the integrity of some of its detectives.
The unit was disbanded on Jan. 1 by Kliment, who has said the move was meant to relieve overworked detectives and had nothing to do with the investigation. Two detectives formerly with the unit, Graham and Paul Carpenter, have been placed on administrative leave while the state police investigation continues. Neither has been formally accused of any wrongdoing.
Jayette Bolinski can be reached at 788-1530 or jayette.bolinski@sj-r.com.
Retrieved February 3, 2006 from http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/77734.asp