Saturday, August 30, 2008
News
Former cop likely to file civil suit, attorney says
By DOMINIC ADAMS Argus-Press Staff Writer
CORUNNA - Attorney Dean Yeotis said he expects to file a civil lawsuit on behalf of a former Corunna police officer who claims he was fired.
Yeotis said city officials deceived and plotted against Panos, while the city claims he quit.
Panos worked as a part-time officer for 4 1/2 years.
“What happened was they set him up. They wanted him out and they succeeded in getting him out,” Yeotis said. “Angelo didn't quit.”
Chief Kim Williams and Corunna City Manager Joe Sawyer said last week Panos did not follow department procedure when requesting to change work shifts. Williams said he told Panos to stop breaking the rules.
But Panos said Williams and Sawyer are lying.
“When I went in there, I was in full uniform,” Panos said of his Aug. 14 shift. “I said, ‘Well, I got an issue with this weekend, but I've got it covered.' (Williams) immediately blew up. He says, ‘You can't stay committed to this schedule. You're terminated.' I said, ‘Are you firing me?' I argued about it because I was there to work.”
When Gary Blahnik retired after nearly 24 years of service as a Corunna police officer, the force dropped to three full-timers and three part-time officers.
The city decided not to fill Blahnik's position for at least six months for budgetary reasons.
“They want Angelo to work all these hours, but they're going to pay him part-time,” Yeotis said. “Angelo said he had to check his schedule and they just say, ‘Nope, you're fired.'”
Sawyer said the cut in staff makes it tougher to schedule.
He said there was a shift-and-a-half uncovered immediately following Panos' lapse in employment.
“A four-hour down period isn't going to kill us,” Sawyer said.
The goal for Panos remains the same, Yeotis said.
“His dream is to be a full-time police officer for the city of Corunna. He's being prevented from doing so for illegal reasons,” Yeotis said of Panos. “He is happy not to accept a penny from the city of Corunna if they would just make him a full-time police officer. It should've happened a long time ago.”
Yeotis said Panos filed his first lawsuit in 2005 because of backlash Panos received from city officials when he arrested Sawyer for drunk driving.
Panos questioned the timing of the city's statement.
“If I simply quit, why'd they wait a week to concoct this story?” Panos said. “It's not true and they know it.”
The city's insurance company paid Panos $25,000 to settle a civil lawsuit last year in which Panos claimed he was passed up for a full-time position in 2005. Sawyer said last week it was a poor decision by the insurance company and didn't cost Corunna anything.
In Panos' 2005 lawsuit, he claimed his employment with the city was threatened multiple times.
Panos had no shifts scheduled for a six-week period after arresting Sawyer. Sawyer said last week it was because the former police chief overspent his budget.
Panos also claimed the city tried to have him charged with racial discrimination in October 2006.
However, Sawyer said it was a case investigated by the Shiawassee County Sheriff's Department and the prosecutor's office made the decision not to press charges.
A letter of reprimand for conduct unbecoming an officer from Williams went in Panos' personnel file. City officials removed the two-year letter from Panos' personnel file, Sawyer said. The copy provided to The Argus-Press was from the city's legal file from Panos' lawsuit, Sawyer said.
- Contact Dominic Adams at 725-5136 extension 239 or by e-mail at dadamsarguspress@gmail.com.
Yeotis said city officials deceived and plotted against Panos, while the city claims he quit.
Panos worked as a part-time officer for 4 1/2 years.
“What happened was they set him up. They wanted him out and they succeeded in getting him out,” Yeotis said. “Angelo didn't quit.”
Chief Kim Williams and Corunna City Manager Joe Sawyer said last week Panos did not follow department procedure when requesting to change work shifts. Williams said he told Panos to stop breaking the rules.
But Panos said Williams and Sawyer are lying.
“When I went in there, I was in full uniform,” Panos said of his Aug. 14 shift. “I said, ‘Well, I got an issue with this weekend, but I've got it covered.' (Williams) immediately blew up. He says, ‘You can't stay committed to this schedule. You're terminated.' I said, ‘Are you firing me?' I argued about it because I was there to work.”
When Gary Blahnik retired after nearly 24 years of service as a Corunna police officer, the force dropped to three full-timers and three part-time officers.
The city decided not to fill Blahnik's position for at least six months for budgetary reasons.
“They want Angelo to work all these hours, but they're going to pay him part-time,” Yeotis said. “Angelo said he had to check his schedule and they just say, ‘Nope, you're fired.'”
Sawyer said the cut in staff makes it tougher to schedule.
He said there was a shift-and-a-half uncovered immediately following Panos' lapse in employment.
“A four-hour down period isn't going to kill us,” Sawyer said.
The goal for Panos remains the same, Yeotis said.
“His dream is to be a full-time police officer for the city of Corunna. He's being prevented from doing so for illegal reasons,” Yeotis said of Panos. “He is happy not to accept a penny from the city of Corunna if they would just make him a full-time police officer. It should've happened a long time ago.”
Yeotis said Panos filed his first lawsuit in 2005 because of backlash Panos received from city officials when he arrested Sawyer for drunk driving.
Panos questioned the timing of the city's statement.
“If I simply quit, why'd they wait a week to concoct this story?” Panos said. “It's not true and they know it.”
The city's insurance company paid Panos $25,000 to settle a civil lawsuit last year in which Panos claimed he was passed up for a full-time position in 2005. Sawyer said last week it was a poor decision by the insurance company and didn't cost Corunna anything.
In Panos' 2005 lawsuit, he claimed his employment with the city was threatened multiple times.
Panos had no shifts scheduled for a six-week period after arresting Sawyer. Sawyer said last week it was because the former police chief overspent his budget.
Panos also claimed the city tried to have him charged with racial discrimination in October 2006.
However, Sawyer said it was a case investigated by the Shiawassee County Sheriff's Department and the prosecutor's office made the decision not to press charges.
A letter of reprimand for conduct unbecoming an officer from Williams went in Panos' personnel file. City officials removed the two-year letter from Panos' personnel file, Sawyer said. The copy provided to The Argus-Press was from the city's legal file from Panos' lawsuit, Sawyer said.
- Contact Dominic Adams at 725-5136 extension 239 or by e-mail at dadamsarguspress@gmail.com.