Published: November 21, 2006 11:54 pm         

Appeals Court tells Clinton to put officer back to work

Clinton — The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a ruling from Vermillion Circuit Court and ordered the reinstatement of Richard A. Lindsey back to his position as a corporal on the Clinton City Police Department.

The court ordered that Lindsey be reimbursed for back pay and benefits. The total could amount to about $40,000, based on Lindsey’s approximate pay.

Lindsey was fired shortly after an April 21, 2005, hearing by the Clinton Board of Public Works & Safety. The board found that he violated the department’s operating procedures by leaving the city limits while on patrol.

In the incident, Lindsey responded to a dispatch about a reckless driver on Indiana 63, who turned out to be drunk, and arrested him. The board also included Lindsey’s past disciplinary record with the department as reason for the termination. The county’s Circuit Court affirmed the board’s ruling.

In overturning, the appellate court ruled Friday that Lindsey did not violate the operating procedures, concluding that he “used common sense … in responding to the dispatch.”

Clinton Mayor Ron Shepard said Monday he will meet with the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety to review the court order; however, the mayor said, “it is a good possibility we are going to appeal this.”

Scott Craig, attorney for the city, said an executive session of the board will be conducted today. The city’s options include filing a petition before the Court of Appeals to rehear the case, requesting the case be heard before the Indiana Supreme Court or filing that request if a petition to rehear the case is denied by the Court of Appeals.

The city has 30 days to respond to the Court of Appeals ruling issued Friday, Craig said.

Lindsey said Monday he plans to be back to work as a Clinton police officer “as soon as the court process is finished.”

“I am very pleased,” he said of the court ruling.

Lindsey was a 14-year veteran of the Police Department, with his last 10 years as a corporal. Since May, he has been working as a 911 dispatcher for the Parke County Sheriff’s Department, he said. Earlier, he was self-employed in a lawn-care business.

“Since I was fired, there is a new procedure in process. The city has a Merit Board system now for the Police Department, made of five individuals,” Lindsey said. “What happened to me should never happen to another officer again.”

Lindsey said he thinks the court ruled on “facts, not political or personal vendettas.”

Shepard said he does not “think the Indiana Court of Appeals looked at the whole record [on Lindsey]. I think they looked at a judgment call and that did not apply here. It was whether the standard operating procedure was violated or not and the Board of Public Works and Safety and chief of police felt like it was violated.”

Shepard said the city’s board made a judgment based on Lindsey’s history.

The appellate court ruling did not address Lindsey’s disciplinary record in its decision and conclusion.

The case can be viewed at www.IN.gov/judiciary/opinions/appeals.html

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@

tribstar.com.