Lamplighter a.k.a. Whistleblower Wins Job Back
Kardasz: The following story describes a lamplighter, a.k.a. whistleblower who suffered retaliation for exercising his right to free speech.
Restored officer to pursue lawsuit - Durant's assistant police chief fired in 2005 for speaking out
From the Clarion Ledger. May 21, 2006, By Jimmie E. Gates, jgates@clarionledger.com
More than a year after being fired, Durant (Mississippi) Assistant Police Chief John Haynes has been reinstated but still plans to pursue a federal lawsuit against the city, the mayor and others.
Haynes said he is continuing his suit, which sought reinstatement and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, because he was fired by the Durant Board of Aldermen in April 2005 after speaking out in a newspaper article about alleged corruption in the city.
"I have lost about $90,000 in savings and salary," said Haynes, who has been working as a police officer in Pickens.
He worked for the department about 11 years before his firing.
Haynes said the biggest thing about his firing was it hurt the image he tries to convey to young people.
"I tell them the biggest thing is to stand up for what is right and to be honest; they told me, 'See what happened to you,' " Haynes said.
The board, including new members, reinstated Haynes on Wednesday in a special meeting, a week after the lawsuit was filed.
Durant Mayor Johnny Pritchard would only say "we rehired him" and that Haynes was fired under another board.
Pritchard referred further comments to City Attorney John Gilmore, who couldn't be reached.
Haynes' attorney, Jim Waide of Tupelo, said Haynes' suit, which now only seeks damages, could be impacted by how the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a California case about freedom of speech protections for public employees.
Haynes said he was informed in a letter from the board that he was being fired because of statements in a March 2, 2005, article in the Kosciusko Star-Herald.
"Plaintiff was an outstanding police officer and had no write-ups or job-related difficulties until he made statements protected by the United States Constitution," the lawsuit said.
"Specifically, plaintiff made statements concerning the integrity of certain public officials which were of public interest...."
Other defendants in the lawsuit are current and former aldermen Howard Roberts, Jim Ferguson, Isaiah Winters and Dora Parkinson.
Ferguson, reached at his home, had no comment. Others could not be reached for comment.
In the California case, which was reargued before the Supreme Court in March, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney filed a lawsuit against three supervisors alleging they retaliated against him for exercising his free speech rights.
The deputy district attorney said a sheriff may have lied in an affidavit for a search warrant in a murder case and sent a memo to superiors recommending the case be dismissed.
He later testified as a defense witness in the case.
The plaintiff said he wasn't promoted and wouldn't be allowed to work on future murder cases.
A U.S. district judge ruled against the deputy district attorney, saying the memo was purely job-related and he wasn't acting in the capacity of a citizen.
However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's decision, ruling that the memo was protected speech because it was on a matter of public concern.
"It could do in a lot of cases I have," Waide said, if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against the plaintiff in the California case.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which isn't a party to the lawsuit, argued in a friend of the court brief that public employees shouldn't enjoy blanket-free speech protection.
Retrieved May 21, 2006 from http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060521/NEWS/605210375/1002/NEWS01