Arbitrator's Findings OnLysaght Case Due Next Month
Arbitratorâs Findings On
Lysaght Case Due Next Month
By Andrew Gorosko
The arbitrator considering the townâs job termination action against Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr is expected to render his findings of fact and also make recommendations in the case by mid-February, according to a lawyer who represents the town.
Attorney David Zabel said arbitrator Albert Murphy will have until then to submit his findings, unless Murphy requests more time to consider the matter, and is granted extensions by the town and Chief Lysaght.
Mr Zabel and attorney John Kelly, representing Chief Lysaght, recently filed briefs in the case, summarizing and amplifying the points they made during four days of job termination hearings held before Mr Murphy in December. Mr Murphy, a Hartford lawyer who is self-employed as an arbitrator, was named through the American Arbitration Association to mediate the case.
In the legal papers, Mr Zabel argues that Chief Lysaght should be terminated. Mr Kelly argues that the Police Commission has not demonstrated âjust causeâ for a firing.
The Police Commission will be bound by the arbitratorâs findings of fact, but will not be bound by his recommendations in the case, reserving the right to decide whether the chief should be terminated. A termination would be subject to a court appeal by the chief.
 Commission members claim Chief Lysaght, 50, has not demonstrated the planning, management and leadership skills needed to effectively run the police department, and are thus seeking to terminate him.
Mr Kelly has responded that the commissionâs complaints amount to âphilosophical differencesâ over how to run a police department, adding that the chief has become a victim of âpetty politics.â
 The commissionâs allegations against the chief and his defense against them formed the basis of almost 20 hours of sworn testimony at the December termination hearing. There are well over 100 pieces of evidence in the case. The action against the chief is administrative in nature, and does not involve any allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
Police Captain Michael Kehoe has run the police department since early July when the Police Commission placed Chief Lysaght on administrative leave, with full pay and benefits.