Post by WaTcHeR on Jan 18, 2007 14:14:43 GMT -5
01.18.2007 - An independent arbitrator has ruled a Broward sheriff's deputy who was fired because the agency said he made up confessions should get his job back, his attorney says.
Officer Zachary Scott, who worked in the Oakland Park detective bureau, was fired on March 16. Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigators recommended he should be criminally charged when he was terminated, but Broward County prosecutors have not filed any charges against him.
The arbitrator, William Hobgood, ordered about a week ago that Scott should be reinstated with back pay and full benefits, said Scott's attorney, Alberto Milian. He said he received the order over the weekend and thinks it is the first arbitration ruling in the cases of several deputies fired because of allegations they fabricated confessions and filed false reports.
Sheriff's spokesman Elliot Cohen said the agency is reviewing the order and has not decided how to respond.
Efforts to obtain a copy of the arbitrator's order after business hours on Tuesday were unsuccessful. Milian said the arbitrator ruled that the agency did not have just cause to fire Scott.
Scott, who joined the Sheriff's Office in March 2000, was fired on the grounds that he falsified reports and failed to meet agency standards, Milian said. But the arbitrator ruled the agency failed to prove that Scott lied or that he had not followed agency policies that were in place at the time, Milian said.
"This effort by BSO to blame it on the deputies was a cover-up. I blame the leadership of BSO and I think it lays at the desk of the sheriff," Milian said.
Milian said the leadership of the Sheriff's Office pushed deputies to clear cases to make the agency's statistics look good.
Cohen said Milian's allegations are not supported by evidence. He said a continuing investigation by the Broward State Attorney's Office has failed to turn up evidence to support Milian's claims. "They [prosecutors] haven't turned up anything to support that," Cohen said.
The Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigation found that Scott filed false reports stating that a jail inmate, Lawrence Wiah, confessed to several burglaries. Sheriff's investigators said jail logs showed the inmate was in court when Scott said Wiah was confessing to him at the jail. Scott told the internal affairs investigators he had no memory of meeting with Wiah but said he wrote reports of the alleged confessions. He said he did not intentionally falsify cases.
Milian said Scott testified at the arbitration and said he would never lie on a report and that he "adhered to the policy approved by his supervisors."
Milian estimated Scott is owed about $65,000 in back pay but said the cost of the whole process, including hiring attorneys and official stenographers, was substantially more.
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cscott17jan17,0,3149486.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Officer Zachary Scott, who worked in the Oakland Park detective bureau, was fired on March 16. Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigators recommended he should be criminally charged when he was terminated, but Broward County prosecutors have not filed any charges against him.
The arbitrator, William Hobgood, ordered about a week ago that Scott should be reinstated with back pay and full benefits, said Scott's attorney, Alberto Milian. He said he received the order over the weekend and thinks it is the first arbitration ruling in the cases of several deputies fired because of allegations they fabricated confessions and filed false reports.
Sheriff's spokesman Elliot Cohen said the agency is reviewing the order and has not decided how to respond.
Efforts to obtain a copy of the arbitrator's order after business hours on Tuesday were unsuccessful. Milian said the arbitrator ruled that the agency did not have just cause to fire Scott.
Scott, who joined the Sheriff's Office in March 2000, was fired on the grounds that he falsified reports and failed to meet agency standards, Milian said. But the arbitrator ruled the agency failed to prove that Scott lied or that he had not followed agency policies that were in place at the time, Milian said.
"This effort by BSO to blame it on the deputies was a cover-up. I blame the leadership of BSO and I think it lays at the desk of the sheriff," Milian said.
Milian said the leadership of the Sheriff's Office pushed deputies to clear cases to make the agency's statistics look good.
Cohen said Milian's allegations are not supported by evidence. He said a continuing investigation by the Broward State Attorney's Office has failed to turn up evidence to support Milian's claims. "They [prosecutors] haven't turned up anything to support that," Cohen said.
The Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigation found that Scott filed false reports stating that a jail inmate, Lawrence Wiah, confessed to several burglaries. Sheriff's investigators said jail logs showed the inmate was in court when Scott said Wiah was confessing to him at the jail. Scott told the internal affairs investigators he had no memory of meeting with Wiah but said he wrote reports of the alleged confessions. He said he did not intentionally falsify cases.
Milian said Scott testified at the arbitration and said he would never lie on a report and that he "adhered to the policy approved by his supervisors."
Milian estimated Scott is owed about $65,000 in back pay but said the cost of the whole process, including hiring attorneys and official stenographers, was substantially more.
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cscott17jan17,0,3149486.story?coll=sfla-news-broward