Davie paying officer to not work for 7 years
Kevin Kilpatrick was put on paid leave after rift with department's top brass, his attorney says
Officer Kevin Kilpatrick has been fired twice by the Davie Police Department and won his job back both times, once through arbitration and once through a federal court settlement. (Davie Police Department, courtesy)
|
Sun Sentinel
6:30 p.m. EST
February 15, 2011
The Davie Police Department hasn't let Officer Kevin Kilpatrick report to duty for seven years but still pays him $80,275 annually.
He has made more than $550,000 for not working.
Kilpatrick, 41, has been investigated on accusations involving a domestic abuse call cover-up as well as a DUI charge. The department fired him twice, and twice he won his job back once from an arbitrator, once from a federal judge.
"There was nothing wrong with him," said Romin Currier, Kilpatrick's attorney. "This guy was completely railroaded by the department."
Under the settlement in the federal case, Kilpatrick was supposed to return to work and get a job behind a desk.
Kilpatrick, who was hired in February 1994, has said all along that he wanted to come back to work. But his attorney says the town has put "hoops" in Kilpatrick's way, insisting that he complete a polygraph even though that was not part of the settlement. Town officials have since backed down, but are now requiring him to complete his recertification as a police officer so that he can return to work.
Town officials have argued that Kilpatrick is "permanently unfit for duty," based on the opinion of one psychologist given in December 2007. The officials say they worry the "unfit for duty" finding could make the town liable in court if Kilpatrick got involved in a shooting, Town Attorney John Rayson said.
But a more recent opinion from a psychiatrist selected by the town's pension board disputes that earlier finding. Given in August 2008, it says Kilpatrick is indeed fit for duty and able to work as a cop both mentally and physically.
"Do you think the town wants to pay him to sit home on his fanny?" Rayson said. "The town wanted him back to work, but in dispatch or a desk job. The town is in kind of a Catch-22. The town is duty-bound under the [settlement] agreement to pay him."
Through his attorney, Kilpatrick declined to comment.
By all accounts, Kilpatrick was an exceptional police officer with an impeccable record. He won high praise from supervisors during his first 10 years with the department. He was quickly promoted to K-9 officer, served on the SWAT team and also worked undercover as a narcotics detective.
Currier says the department's top brass targeted Kilpatrick after a rift developed in 2003 between him and Police Chief John George, who has since retired and could not be reached for comment.
According to court records, George placed Kilpatrick on paid leave in October 2003 over complaints about "actions you have taken toward your fellow officers" and launched an internal investigation into whether he violated a direct order to stay away from members of the department's Special Investigation Unit. The case ended with a finding that he violated lawful orders.
While still on paid leave, Kilpatrick became the subject of another internal investigation, into an alleged DUI. A jury found him not guilty in September 2004 but, after an internal affairs investigation into the incident, the chief fired Kilpatrick the following February for violating department policy.
A year later, an arbitrator ruled Davie was wrong to terminate Kilpatrick and reduced his discipline to a 10-day suspension. The arbitrator awarded back pay and restored Kilpatrick's benefits and seniority.
Still, the town wouldn't let him go back to work. As court records show, Kilpatrick had already been found fit for duty in two separate psychological exams, but officials insisted he had to pass another one, given by an expert picked by the city. Meanwhile, he remained on paid leave.
This time, the psychologist found Kilpatrick "permanently unfit for duty." Based on that, the department fired him again in January 2008.
Kilpatrick filed a federal lawsuit in May 2008, arguing that Davie had violated his federal rights. The town settled in August 2009, agreeing to reinstate him and pay him $300,000 in back pay and attorneys' fees.
But to this day, he remains on paid leave, not allowed to work. Davie is still negotiating the terms of his employment, the town attorney said.
Rayson said Police Chief Patrick Lynn has resisted putting Kilpatrick back to work because Lynn "believes there are ambiguities in the settlement agreement and he wants clarification. But if we go back to court for clarification, it will cost the town more money. I say enough with going back and bothering the judge. There is no reason why we shouldn't be able to get him back to work."
In the meantime, Kilpatrick has continued to collect yearly raises and benefits negotiated by the police union over the past seven years.
Kilpatrick has agreed to retire in February 2014, when he is eligible to receive his full pension.
"He's more than happy to go back to work or take the retirement," his attorney said. "He doesn't care."
May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008