A federal judge ruled retired Seymour Police Department Detective Sgt. Ronald Goodmaster had no evidence to back up his contention that town officials conspired against him after he spoke out against the department.
“ … Goodmaster has failed to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether any of his federally protected rights were violated,” U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello wrote in a Feb. 8 decision.
The judge ordered the lawsuit dismissed, bringing a 25-month-old federal court case to a close.
A copy of the judge’s decision is embedded below. The article continues after the document.
Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller said the town had to pay a $10,000 deductible on its insurance policy to defend itself against Goodmaster’s lawsuit.
Miller said the town is exploring whether Goodmaster can be sued in order to recoup the money.
Typically, each party in a lawsuit pays only their own legal costs, regardless of whether they win or lose.
“That is taxpayer money spent on an entirely frivolous lawsuit brought by Mr. Goodmaster,” Miller said. “Fortunately, in this case, the facts came to light.”
An email and a voicemail were left Tuesday morning with William Palmieri, the lawyer who represented Goodmaster in the civil rights lawsuit.
Background
Goodmaster was hired by the Seymour Police Department in 1989. He was named Detective Sergeant, a high-ranking position, in 2006.
In 2011 Goodmaster filed a complaint against the town with the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), alleging the town and police management targeted him because he often publicly complained about police department issues.
In 2012, Goodmaster requested that he be allowed to remain a police officer past his 65th birthday in order to get a better pension. The mandatory retirement age for police officers is 65, unless a municipality’s legislative body agrees to allow an exception.
That same year (2012) the Seymour Board of Police Commissioners voted to allow Goodmaster to remain on the job past his 65th birthday.
However, First Selectman Kurt Miller checked with a Seymour town lawyer who said the Seymour Board of Police Commissioners had no authority to give Goodmaster more time.
The lawyer — and the state — said only a local legislative body — in Seymour’s case, the Board of Selectmen — could make that decision.
The Board of Police Commissioners rescinded its decision and, in late 2012, the Seymour Board of Selectmen voted 5 – 1 against extending Goodmaster’s employment past his 65th birthday.
Goodmaster turned 65 on March 8, 2013, which effectively ended his police career in Seymour.
Retribution?
Goodmaster’s federal lawsuit claimed, essentially, that Miller, Seymour Police Chief Michael Metzler and Lucy McConologue, the chair of the Board of Police Commissioners, denied his request for more time because of the various complaints he made against the town and the police department, including his 2011 complaint to the CHRO.
Goodmaster’s lawyer pointed out that historically, the Board of Police Commissioners decided whether to allow a cop to work past age 65. That policy was a mistake, the current administration argued.
But the judge said Goodmaster offered nothing to support his claims, other than hearsay and his own opinion. The claims in Goodmaster’s complaint simply did not connect any dots that showed a scheme by town officials to do him in.
The judge also said Goodmaster’s case was hurt by the fact the town offered him a chance to stay in the police department under a “special assignment,” apparently as an acting lieutenant, according to court documents.
Goodmaster said the offer was mentioned but never formally offered and he would have denied the offer regardless, according to the judge’s decision.
Judge Covello said Goodmaster’s lawsuit provided no evidence that the members of the Board of Selectmen voted against his extension for reasons other than were mentioned in public.
The “no” votes on the Board of Selectmen were cast because Goodmaster declined the “special assignment” and because some on the Board of Selectmen were afraid to establish a precedent for 65-year-old town police officers, according to court documents.