Arbitrator Selected For Lysaght Termination Hearing

By Andrew Gorosko

The town and Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr have chosen an arbitrator who will preside at the chief’s upcoming job termination hearing.

Attorney Frederick Dorsey, who represents the Police Commission, said Thursday Hartford attorney Albert G. Murphy has been named as the arbitrator. Mr Murphy is self-employed as an arbitrator and mediator.

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) named Mr Murphy the arbitrator after reviewing rank-ordered lists of acceptable arbitrators submitted by the town and Chief Lysaght.

Mr Dorsey called Mr Murphy  “a well-respected arbitrator.”

 The town and the chief have not yet met with Mr Murphy to discuss the specifics of the termination hearing, Mr Dorsey said.

Mr Dorsey said the town and the chief are considering scheduling the termination hearing for some time in December.

Mr Murphy has been a full-time arbitrator and mediator since 1991. From 1985 to 1991 he served as the neutral member on the state Department of Education’s teacher-school board negotiation panel.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth in 1953 and a law degree from the University of Connecticut Law School in 1958.

Mr Murphy charges $700 per day for arbitration services. Under an agreement between the town and the chief, the town will assume those costs.

Having found Chief Lysaght’s job performance unacceptable, the Police Commission has notified him of the reasons for his termination. Commission members have said the chief possesses neither the leadership nor management skills required to effectively run the police department, and are thus seeking to terminate him. The Police Commission hired Chief Lysaght in July 1996. He formerly served as the second-in-command at the Bristol Police Department.

In response to the commission’s allegations, John Kelly, the chief’s attorney, has countered that the complaints against the chief amount to “philosophical differences” over how to run a police department, adding that the chief has become the victim of “petty politics.”

As arbitrator t the termination hearing, Mr Murphy will serve as a fact finder. He will make recommendations to the Police Commission, but the commission will not be bound by the recommendations and will the have the decision-making power on whether the chief is fired. A termination may be appealed in Danbury Superior Court.