# Massachussets Officer Wins Promotion Legal Battle



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*ELAINE THOMPSON*
_Telegram & Gazette_










A Superior Court judge has upheld the state Civil Service Commission's ruling that Police Officer Joseph P. Kerrigan was unjustifiably bypassed for promotion to sergeant in 2000.

The court decision means the patrolman's name will be the first on the list the next time the department has an opening for sergeant.

Reached at his home by phone last night, the 1986 Hudson High graduate said he is ecstatic about the court decision.

"I was treated unfairly. They were biased against me," the officer said. "I do my job no matter what. I like being a police officer in Hudson and serving the people of Hudson. That's all I've ever wanted to do."

In 2000, he and Officers Christopher Shea and Thomas Boudreau were up for a sergeant's position. Officer Kerrigan, a former union president, scored the highest on the Civil Service exam, but Officer Shea, who did the best during the interview process, received the promotion. Police Chief Richard Braga Jr. was required to give his reasons for bypassing Mr. Kerrigan.

The chief cited a poor performance at the promotion interviews and an incident in July 2000 in which the officer allegedly swore at a 16-year-old resident while off duty. The boy was Chief Braga's nephew. He also cited a 1999 case in which the patrolman allegedly committed perjury while testifying in a juvenile court. The officer was suspended without pay for two days for allegedly swearing at the teenager, but the Civil Service Commission overturned the suspension. The town filed and lost an appeal of that decision in Superior Court.

The state Department of Personnel Administration approved the promotion bypass. But Civil Service Commissioner Daniel M. Henderson said Chief Braga's reasons for not promoting Mr. Kerrigan were unsubstantiated. The commissioner also called the chief's promotion interview process "a sham."

The commission ordered that the officer be placed at the top of the present certification or the next certification for promotion to sergeant. The date of bypass was also to be his seniority date for Civil Service purposes. The commission also prohibited Chief Braga from using the same reasons for future promotion bypasses.

In 2004, the town appealed the commission's ruling to the Middlesex Superior Court, claiming the commission had incorrectly placed the burden of proof on the chief instead of the officer, abused discretion while making its ruling and improperly disregarded evidence that supported the bypass.

On Friday, copies of Judge Stephen Neel's decision were mailed to the parties.

Chief Braga, last night in a phone interview, said he is deeply disappointed with the court decision. He said the court decided that it couldn't second-guess the Civil Service Commission's decision. He said Officer Shea, with the department since the late 1980s, is a more experienced officer than Officer Kerrigan, who has been a full-time officer since 1997.

"The Civil Service Commission concluded the town was prohibited from promoting a more experienced and more qualified officer to the rank of sergeant over Officer Kerrigan who scored higher on a paper-and-pencil test, but who a juvenile court judge believed had testified untruthfully on the stand and who departmental investigators found had not been forthright in an investigation on a citizen's complaint," the chief said. "Officer Shea is a much more qualified and deserving officer."

Officer Kerrigan said the favorable court decision confirms the allegations in a pending federal lawsuit he filed against the chief, Capt. David Stephens, Lt. David French and the town. In the suit filed Aug. 1, 2003 in U. S. District Court, Mr. Kerrigan, a former union president, claims the trio tried to intimidate and harass him to stop him from publicly criticizing the department's management and supporting officers being disciplined.

"Now I have four independent findings in my favor: two from the Civil Service Commission and two from superior court judges. I'm looking forward to being heard in federal court," he said.


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## bbelichick (Aug 25, 2002)

I didn't know you weren't allowed to swear off-duty if you are a Police Officer.

I guess that Freedom of Speech thing is just a "guideline" if you wear a Badge.


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## irish937 (Sep 13, 2005)

That type of behavior is covered in the "conduct unbecoming" section of most rules and regs (on or off-duty). It's pretty easy to see there is MUCH more to this story. I went to in-service with a couple Hudson guys a few years back. They left me with the impression that they are micro-managed. They have GPS in all cruisers except a detective's and the chief's. He does check to see if they've been speeding, covered enough miles, etc, etc. Sounded like a great place to work!!


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## bbelichick (Aug 25, 2002)

irish937 said:


> That type of behavior is covered in the "conduct unbecoming" section of most rules and regs (on or off-duty).


Bullsh*t. You have a right to express yourself off duty.

If you say "F you, I am a (wherever) cop, it's one thing.

But if you want to tell someone how you feel, as a citizen...You can. And face it, when not acting under authority of your Department, you have all the rights and responsibilities as a citizen. Tell me how Judges can tell cops to have "thick skin" and put up with a citizen's abuse but off duty we can't swear?

Conduct Unbecoming is a catch all regulation. I'd imagine a good lawyer would have a blast with these types of cases.


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## mpd61 (Aug 7, 2002)

I agree.................

Conduct unbecoming must first be substantiated, and it looks like it wasn't here (HA HA)


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## irish937 (Sep 13, 2005)

Clearly (the unsubstantiated part). Just saying that Admin uses that as a "catch all" to headhunt. I'm sure there is significantly more that we are NOT hearing about. Like I said before, it is my distinct impression that the command staff in this department enjoy micro-management. We all love to be treated like kindergartners.


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## topcop14 (Jul 13, 2004)

Seems like every other week Hudson Pd is in the paper for something screwy. I also sat with a guy from Hudson a few years ago at in-service. He was close to retirement, funny old goat. He didn't have a single good thing to say about the department. I think I remember reading last year that the sergeants took themselves out of the union. 

Now that was smart! ! !


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## MVS (Jul 2, 2003)

Good for Joe Kerrigan. I did not meet him in person, but I had some telephone conversations with him regarding work "stuff" and he was a very nice stand-up kinda guy. He was quite professional and knows his stuff. 

If swearing (off...or on) is conduct unbecoming, damn I'm screwed. The F's fly out of my mouth like birds flying south in the winter, by the flocks.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 2006)

I swear alot too. I better watch myself I guess. I havent been fired yet though!!!


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## jasonbr (Feb 9, 2006)

I dunno - but it seemed like his alleged perjury is a bigger deal than swearing - although swearing at your bosses nephew isn't a good way to get promoted.


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

The town of hudson seems to be having a lot of problems lately.


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## THE RP (Oct 1, 2005)

*If swearing (off...or on) is conduct unbecoming, damn I'm screwed.*

Just keep in mind that conduct unbecoming is a very loose thing for any administration to throw around and is meant to be just that....It is generally defined and understood as any conduct that would bring shame or dishonor to a respective department or organization....This of course is open to very wide interpretation and has been used and can be used in many ways...Obviously things were and are a mess in the above PD, which led to this whole fiasco, but everyone should keep mind that if they want you they can get you pretty easy for things that you do every day just in the course of doing business...With some things you will beat them in the long run but with some things you won't...But that long run is very painful and very expensive so just be aware of it and be aware that Civil Service and the Courts can be pretty unpredictable wth this......If you doubt what I am saying take an IA course and pay close attention then ask around and see how many union guys or outspoken guys have been put through the ringer by administrations that want to bite back. This is what is usually used... I am glad things worked out with this guy but no matter what I wouldn't have put money on the outcome...


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## MVS (Jul 2, 2003)

If I were a Hudson Cop now, I'd definitely be considering jumping ship. Way too much crap over there.


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