Date: Fri 17-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

police-Lysaght-arbitrator

Full Text:

Search Begins For Arbitrator In Lysaght Termination Case

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The town was poised to submit a request to the American Arbitration

Association (AAA) Wednesday seeking the services of an independent arbitrator

to preside at the termination hearing of Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr.

Frederick Dorsey, a town lawyer representing the Police Commission, said

Wednesday he would be submitting a request to the association that day, plus a

written agreement between the town and Chief Lysaght explaining the request.

Police Commission members allege Chief Lysaght has neither the management nor

the leadership abilities to effectively run the police department, and thus

are seeking to terminate him.

John Kelly, representing Chief Lysaght, says the conflict between the Police

Commission and the chief amounts to "philosophical differences" over how to

run a police department and that the chief is the victim of "petty politics."

The independent arbitrator, who will be jointly chosen by the town and the

chief, will be selected under the voluntary rules of AAA. The arbitrator will

hold the termination hearing, make findings of fact and make non-binding

recommendations to the Police Commission. Following the hearing, the

commission will decide whether to fire the chief.

Mr Dorsey said he expects the termination hearing will be conducted in

November, although if the town and chief choose an arbitrator quickly, the

hearing could start in late October.

"Sometime in November is most likely," he said.

AAA will provide a list of available arbitrators to both sides. The parties

will then cross off the names of unacceptable arbitrators, and by a process of

elimination, an arbitrator will be chosen to conduct the hearing.

"These things take a certain amount of time to happen," Mr Dorsey said.

Because an arbitrator will be conducting the termination hearing, the Police

Commission will have a lowered profile in the case until it is time for

commission members to decide whether Chief Lysaght should be terminated, Mr

Dorsey said.

"The commission will kind of be `out of the loop' until the arbitrator makes

his findings of fact," Mr Dorsey said.

Mr Kelly said on Tuesday many questions remain open about how the arbitrator

will conduct the termination hearing. "It is very wide open," he said.

Mr Kelly is preparing the chief's defense against the allegations made by the

Police Commission in August in its notice of grounds for his dismissal.

The chief will take the position that the commission's negative job

performance evaluations of him were not accurate, Mr Kelly said. The chief

will describe his accomplishments in his three years as chief, the lawyer

added. Those accomplishments are detailed in three annual reports which the

chief has filed with the Police Commission.

Mr Kelly said the number of witnesses the town will call to testify at the

hearing will affect the number of witnesses the chief will call in his

defense.

In a compromise move on August 30, the Police Commission and Chief Lysaght

agreed to have an independent arbitrator conduct the hearing through which the

commission is seeking to fire the chief.

Mr Kelly had subpoenaed all five commission members as witnesses to testify on

behalf of Chief Lysaght. Mr Kelly argued that because all five commission

members will be witnesses, they cannot also be impartial adjudicators at the

hearing.

As a result, the commission agreed to have an arbitrator conduct the

termination hearing, but to retain the power to decide whether the chief

should be fired.

At the conclusion of the termination hearing, the commission will deliberate,

deciding whether Chief Lysaght should be terminated. If the commission votes

to fire the chief, the chief may appeal a termination in Danbury Superior

Court.

According to a past motion filed by Mr Kelly, Chief Lysaght believes the

testimony to be provided at the hearing by the commission members will show

there is no just cause to terminate his employment.

On July 6, Police Commission members placed Chief Lysaght, 50, on

administrative leave with full pay and benefits until pending commission

charges of ineffective management and lack of leadership against him are

resolved, along with the question of the chief's possible dismissal. Captain

Michael Kehoe is running the police department in the chief's absence.