By CHRISTOPHER WALKER The Patriot Ledger QUINCY - A Quincy police officer fired for allegedly driving drunk but ultimately cleared of criminal charges won his job back and could be paid up to $200,000 by the city for two years of back pay and other lost income.
An arbitrator ruled there was virtually no evidence Officer Timothy Kaes was drunk when he drove his SUV into a parked car, a fire hydrant and the garage of a house just off Hancock Street in the Wollaston section of the city late on a September night in 2004.
The arbitrator said in a ruling this week that the city had no grounds to fire, or even discipline, Kaes. He stands to be paid at least $120,000 for base salary he lost since being fired, and that number could climb closer to $200,000 when his average detail and overtime workload are calculated, officials said.
While police brass and city hall officials may have had suspicions about Kaes’ conduct and condition at the time of the accident, there was virtually no evidence presented either during the criminal trial or at the arbitrator’s hearing to prove Kaes was driving drunk at the time of accident, the arbitrator ruled.
The arbitrator, lawyer James Litton, was selected mutually by the city and the police union after Kaes appealed Mayor William Phelan’s decision to fire him.
‘‘Having read the facts that were found by the arbitrator, I’m somewhat perplexed by the findings that he made,’’ said Phelan, ‘‘but notwithstanding that, we intend to accept the ruling, and hope that Officer Kaes will be a productive member of the Quincy Police Department for years to come. We consider this issue over.’’
The case is one of several flash points that has enflamed an already fractious relationship between Police Chief Robert Crowley and the patrolmen’s union, whose president said yesterday the chief should ‘‘resign and hang his head in shame’’ following the arbitrator’s ruling.
Officers who first investigated the incident did not seek drunken driving charges against Kaes until Crowley intervened, and a clerk magistrate originally refused to file criminal charges, citing a lack of evidence.
Crowley made the rare move of asking Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating’s office to appeal that ruling to a judge, who later agreed to file criminal charges.
A judge cleared Kaes after a criminal trial last year, and the final favorable ruling by the arbitrator prompted Quincy Police Patrol Officers Association President Bruce Tait to blast Crowley for essentially ‘‘pushing a criminal case from his bedroom,’’ saying the chief literally phoned-in the order to charge Kaes on the night of the crash.
Crowley declined to comment on the ruling.
The arbitrator’s report offers the most detailed account to date of the series of events after the crash, which Kaes testified was caused because he was trying to avoid hitting a coyote while driving home from a friend’s house.
Litton, the arbitrator, noted that the coyote explanation was first raised during the arbitration hearing.
The report also states that two witnesses saw Kaes running away from the crash scene; Kaes said he was walking away to find a phone and call in the accident.
Kaes testified that when he spotted a police cruiser in the nearby Wollaston MBTA station, he flagged it down to report the accident even though his car was equipped with a system that automatically dialed 911 after the crash.
None of the several police officers involved in investigating the accident found evidence to pursue drunken driving charges, although two EMTs who treated Kaes said they could smell alcohol on his breath.
Kaes testified that he had one beer more than two hours before the 2:50 a.m. car accident.
A doctor who treated Kaes at the hospital said at the time he believed Kaes was intoxicated, but that doctor did not testify during the arbitration hearing.
The report adds that Kaes asked that the emergency room staff not draw blood from him, and that he left the hospital quietly several hours after the accident and walked home.
Crowley testified during the arbitrator’s hearing that he asked one of the investigating officers if Kaes would’ve been charged had he been a civilian, and the officer responded ‘‘Yeah, probably.’’
That answer prompted the chief’s decision to seek criminal charges, he testified.
Tait, the union president, said Kaes has indicated previously that he intends to file a civil lawsuit against Crowley and the police department.
Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger Transmitted Thursday, November 16, 2006
Posted by: HousingCop
QPPOA.ORG- I love the smell of napalm in the morning..... Smelled like... victory.
Posted by: GD
Good job Chief Crowley!! Another wonderful decision which cost the taxpayer money!!
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