Officer restored to sergeant, gets $215K in settlement

Judge OKs agreement in suit; case tied to state police report

By Daniel Kittredge
Posted 7/27/16

A Cranston officer who Rhode Island State Police say was targeted with bogus disciplinary charges and intimidated into accepting a reduction in rank nearly three years ago will be restored to the rank of sergeant and receive $215,000

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Officer restored to sergeant, gets $215K in settlement

Judge OKs agreement in suit; case tied to state police report

Posted

A Cranston officer who Rhode Island State Police say was targeted with bogus disciplinary charges and intimidated into accepting a reduction in rank nearly three years ago will be restored to the rank of sergeant and receive $215,000 under the terms of a settlement ratified in federal court last week.

The consent judgment, submitted in U.S. District Court by attorneys for the plaintiff and defendants in the case, awards Matthew Josefson the money – which includes compensatory pay and attorney’s fees – and mandates his reinstatement to the rank of sergeant. That was to have occurred no later than July 25.

The judgment calls for Josefson’s reinstatement in rank be retroactive to November 2013, and orders that “all documents … which in any way reference the investigation, charges, and the so-called Last Chance Agreement … shall be removed and expunged from all files maintained by the City and its police department.” The agreement includes no admission of fault by any of the parties.

The situation surrounding Josefson became one of several significant chapters in the 182-page state police assessment report on the Cranston department, which was released last year. That report is deeply critical of Mayor Allan Fung, retired Chief of Police Col. Marco Palombo, and others, alleging mismanagement of, and political interference in, the police department.

The report found Josefson had been wrongly targeted with disciplinary charges and pressured into signing the so-called “last-chance agreement” in November 2013, which resulted in his being reduced in rank to patrolman. State police also say Fung knew of Josefson’s situation, but did nothing to address it.

Josefson last year filed a lawsuit against the city, with Fung, Palombo, retired Maj. Robert Ryan, and retired Capt. Stephen Antonucci named as plaintiffs. He initially sought more than $800,000 in combined damages, along with restoration of his rank.

Palombo – who has denied wrongdoing in the Josefson case and other matters outlined in the state police report – and Ryan filed countersuits against Josefson. Palombo and Josefson reached a separate agreement to end litigation, and the consent judgment settles the matter for all other parties named.

Robert Coupe, Fung’s director of administration, on Monday issued the following statement:

“Unfortunately, cities and towns are frequently faced with lawsuits and the City of Cranston seeks to resolve legal disputes in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible, to protect taxpayers and to maintain essential city services. Given the high cost of litigation, a settlement was reached to resolve the civil rights lawsuit filed by Officer Josefson, and a consent judgment from the federal court ordered the reinstatement of rank and payment of back wages, legal fees, and damages totaling about twenty-five percent of the original claim. This resolution will allow the City of Cranston and the Cranston Police Department to avoid a lengthy, disruptive, and very expensive legal battle, protects taxpayers, and will permit Officer Josefson to continue serve the residents of the city.”

At Monday’s meeting of the City Council, longstanding tensions over the Josefson case – and with other police-related matters, dating back to the so-called “Ticketgate” episode of late 2013 – surfaced once again.

The council last year approved a resolution calling on the mayor to immediately restore Josefson’s rank, and later considered a measure that would have altered the composition of the police department in a bid to force the issue. That proposal failed to garner the needed support.

Council President John Lanni on Monday called the episode “another black eye for the administration,” and said taxpayers would again be on the hook for mismanagement of the police department.

“This council months and months ago asked the administration to reinstate Mr. Josefson to the rank of sergeant … We were ignored,” he said.

Costs associated with matters outlined in the state police report have become the focus of a lengthy, and frequently contentious, debate during council proceedings.

Anthony Moretti, the council’s internal auditor, earlier this year unveiled a 20-page report – compiled at the request of Lanni – that estimated those costs to be in the millions. His most recent estimate ranged between roughly $4.4 million and more than $9 million, depending on whether the calculation included costs state police say they incurred and settlement demands in the Josefson case and other ongoing litigation.

Republicans on the council have been sharply critical of Moretti’s figures. Politics have seeped into the debate, with Fung – a Republican – seeking a new term this year against Democrat Michael Sepe, who has made the police matters a focus of his campaign.

Ward 3 Councilman Paul Archetto renewed his criticism of the administration over legal costs. Fung’s decision to appeal a court ruling in a redistricting case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island was also cited Monday as a needless and costly endeavor.

“That explains why Ward 3 doesn’t have any roads being paved … The money’s being squandered for legal fees,” he said.

Citywide Councilman Michael Farina – who has been critical of Moretti’s figures, and spoken frequently of moving forward in terms of the police matters – on Monday said he was pleased to see the matter resolved.

“These were avoidable costs … I’m happy that Sgt. Josefson is a sergeant again,” he said. “I’m glad the administration is slowly but surely fixing these things and moving forward.”

Council Vice President Richard Santamaria urged his colleagues to “not forget” that amid the financial considerations, the resolution in the matter led to an appropriate outcome.

“What happened to [Josefson] was close to communism, that they made up rules after they demoted him,” he said. “Forget all the money, a wrong’s been righted.”

The consent judgment will apparently not result in any issues in terms of police department promotional lists. Coupe on Monday said a sergeant’s list had been in place, but was exhausted following a recent promotion.

Moretti on Monday was asked to prepare updated figures on the police costs for next month’s council meeting. Additionally, Lanni asked Finance Director Robert Strom to compile a report on costs related to the issues in the state police report.

“I would like the administration to give us their version of what Mr. Moretti has done,” he said.

Strom agreed, although no timeline was set during the discussion.

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