Our second editorial today (not posted but available on the extended entry here) commented on the odd case of a state trooper who was fired for NOT blowing the whistle on a fellow trooper accused of roughing up a suspect. Or at least that's one interpretation. You can read the N.C. Court of Appeals opinion here.
The whistle blew, or didn’t
A former state trooper claims he was fired for reporting misconduct by another officer. The state says he was untruthful, not a whistleblower.
Reginald Newberne was fired because he reported that a fellow state trooper struck a suspect.
Or because he didn’t.
That paradox lies at the heart of a case argued before the N.C. Court of Appeals. In a decision filed Jan. 18, a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 against Newberne’s claim.
Court records say Newberne arrived at a crime scene shortly after midnight on May 14, 2000, and found that three other troopers already had arrested a suspect, Owen Jackson Nichols.
Newberne noticed that Trooper P.A. Collins was rubbing his hand. Collins said he hurt it striking Nichols, adding that he didn’t plan to seek treatment because “he would not know how to explain his injury to the sergeant,” according to Newberne’s account.
Later that day, the suspect’s father filed a complaint alleging that Collins and two other troopers used excessive force in arresting his son.
A sergeant ordered Newberne to submit a written report of what he had observed at the arrest scene. The trooper did so but initially omitted any reference to Collins’ explanation of the hand injury. A few days later, however, Newberne had misgivings and submitted an amended report, which added the missing information.
Months later, Newberne was fired for violating the State Highway Patrol’s “truthfulness directive.” He sued, claiming protection under North Carolina’s Whistleblower Act. His case was dismissed by a Superior Court judge in 2003, but he appealed.
The Whistleblower Act says state employees can’t be punished for reporting improper conduct. Newberne alleged he was fired for relating Collins’ account of striking a suspect. Attorneys for the state answered that Newberne was discharged because his initial report was untruthful.
Appeals Court Judges Linda McGee and James Wynn agreed. The Whistleblower Act doesn’t cover inaccurate reports, McGee wrote.
Judge John Tyson dissented, stating that Newberne’s first report was only incomplete, not untruthful.
Collins, meanwhile, remains on duty. Last year, a Cumberland County jury dismissed Nichols’ claims that Collins and others used excessive force during the arrest.
It seems Newberne was fired for not reporting an offense that didn’t happen. That’s quite a paradox.
Comments (1)
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Never fear, Davis will get his marching orders from Alston!
Posted on February 2, 2005 9:42 AM