Kate Adams was hired by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department in 1994, and by March 2020, she had worked her way up to Chief of Police for the City of Rancho Cordova in California. Her time in the position, however, was short-lived, as Adams was forced to resign the following year after allegat
In 2015, the Internal Affairs Unit of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety in California opened an investigation into David Meinhardt, an officer who also happened to be the president of the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers’ Association. IA was following up on a complaint that Meinhardt was usi
Like many municipalities across the country, the City of Los Angeles declared an emergency in March 2020 in response to COVID-19. The following August, the City passed an ordinance that required all City employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, request an exemption, or be subject to “appropriate
In 2023, Wesley Shifflett, a police officer with the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, shot and killed Timothy McCree Johnson outside of the Tysons Corner Center Mall. Johnson was suspected of shoplifting. As Shifflett gave chase, Shifflett alleged, Johnson “quickly stopped his flight, t
Gregory Moliere served as a police officer in the Buffalo Police Department in Texas. Despite department policy to the contrary, Moliere engaged in a high-speed chase while a civilian was riding along in his patrol vehicle. The chase resulted in an accident that damaged the patrol vehicle. Moliere r
American Federation of Government Employees Local 3584, representing a unit of correctional workers, made an information request to the Department of Justice’s Office of Internal Affairs on behalf of its members at FCI Dublin, a low-security federal prison in California. The Union believed that the
On March 9, 2020, the Governor of Illinois issued a Disaster Proclamation, and on March 13, the President declared a National Emergency related to COVID-19. The Proclamation declared that COVID-19 can lead to “serious, long-term complications in some cases.” According to the Centers for Disease Cont
In March 2019, Aaron Shirley, a police sergeant for the Clarendon Hills Police Department in Illinois, was injured on duty while assisting paramedics in restraining a minor lying on a cot. While restraining the minor, Shirley felt a “pop” in his right shoulder and later experienced severe pain and d
In 2017, the Teamsters were conducting an organizing campaign among the commanders in the Cook County Department of Corrections, a subdivision of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office opposed the inclusion of commanders, who they viewed as managerial employees. In August of that yea
The Texas Supreme Court recently upheld a provision in the Austin Firefighters Association collective bargaining agreement that provides paid leave for “Association Business.” The case, Roger Borgelt, et al. v. Austin Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 975, et al., involved a challenge brought by
Jasmine Johnson-Purnell is a Licensed Practical Nurse employed by the Washington State Department of Corrections at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton. She was part of a nonsupervisory unit represented by Teamsters Local 117. In January 2024, Johnson-Purnell was assigned new medication car
Ryan Pownall is a Philadelphia police officer who was terminated and criminally charged after fatally shooting David Jones following a dispute over Jones’ operation of a dirt bike. Terrance Freeman, who was riding in the back seat of Pownall’s police vehicle, witnessed the shooting. Jones was taken
In January 2019, the Nickerson Post, a banquet hall in Quincy, Massachusetts, hired Paul Keenan and Christopher Bulger to provide private police detail at a concert. Keenan was chief of the City’s police department, and Bulger was an officer in that department. That evening, the Nickerson Post was o
Until 2011, Article V of the charter of the City of Palo Alto, California required binding interest arbitration for certain labor disputes with its public safety unions. Facing a budget crisis in 2010 and 2011, the City council proposed modifying Article V to require cheaper dispute resolution proc
Troy Carter was a correctional officer and shift supervisor with the rank of lieutenant at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Southern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in West Virginia. Carter received a call from Major Larry Warden in May 2022 “informing him that he was being suspend
On June 30, 2020, Antavione Ferguson, then a lieutenant with the Montgomery Police Department in Alabama, approached a suspect that had been involved in a car chase. Ferguson had just observed the suspect ram his car twice into a car he was chasing. After the second collision, the suspect exited the
In March 2024, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Employees’ Association filed a representation petition with the Oregon Employment Relations Board by card check, seeking to certify a new bargaining unit of “all sergeants employed by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Department.” The Deschutes County Sheri
Nisha King was a sergeant with the Provo City Police Department in Utah. In July 2022, King and several other officers were assigned to retrieve flags from the Provo mayor’s old office and transport them to the new City building. As the assigned officers were moving the flags and flag stands, King p
A police officer in Manchester, New Hampshire, referred to here as John Doe, was arrested and charged with DWI in 2020 while off duty in New York. He resigned two weeks later, and the City notified the Attorney General’s Office that Doe should be placed on the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule (EES). Do
Correctional Officers Justin Drexler and Courtney Cornell are employees of the Alleghany County Jail (ACJ) in Pennsylvania. The CBA between the Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union (Union) and the County lays out a process by which COs may be required to fill staffing shortages, at th
Eric Noble worked as a security guard at the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Library for a little over two years. On May 26, 2020, Noble shared a widely disseminated meme on Facebook. It depicted figures being maimed or running to escape from being maimed by a large automobile, with the words “ALL LIV
Sergio Ramirez began his tenure as a police officer in the California City of Indio Police Department in 2005. In August 2016, Ramirez was charged with rape and two additional counts of sexual assault of his 18-year-old niece. The City of Indio placed Ramirez on administrative leave, asked him to t
Although this case does not directly involve a public safety union, it is a cautionary tale for public sector employers and the unions with whom they negotiate. AFSCME Local 2384 represents the unsworn personnel of the City of Phoenix, Arizona. The Local 2384 represents workers across several units
Jane Doe is the pseudonym of a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighter, who was employed by the City for over 30 years. Doe came out as a transgender woman late in her career and sought pre-authorization for facial feminization surgery from her City-provided health insurance. She had earlier been dia