SANFORD, Fla.,None — The city of Sanford will have to pay up for what some are calling a big mistake by the former police chief. An officer who was fired last year is now being reinstated, and the city will now have to pay more than $100,000.
A Sanford police officer of five years, Jason Bowen was fired last April after sending inappropriate messages to co-workers from his cruiser laptop, messages like "ebony princess," "I'm looking for young females, minimum age 13," and "today's game is who can write the most tickets to one motorist on a traffic stop."
Seven other officers were also found to have written inappropriate messages from their laptops. They were only suspended; Bowen lost his job.
"Officer Bowen needed to be treated just like everyone else," union attorney George Harigian told WFTV.
Harigian approached former chief Brian Tooley to have Bowen reinstated. Tooley and the city refused, which now appears to be a costly mistake.
Bowen filed a grievance claiming he was terminated without just cause, and a federal arbitrator agreed, reinstating Bowen to his position.
"It will be just like he never left," Harigian said.
The federal arbitrator felt the department didn't investigate the messages properly and made a decision based on minimal information. Now, the city will have to pay Bowen back pay, pensions, attorney's fees and court costs.
The total amount will be more than $100,000.
Harigian blames it on poor management.
"Just a simple matter of fairness, where Chief Tooley was not a fair administrator," he said.
Chief Tooley had troubles of his own within the department and was fired in September of last year. Neither Tooley, the city, nor interim police Chief Steven Harriet could comment on the case. Now, Bowen will return to his old position of traffic officer on Monday.