Crowley So Wins Appeal for Retired MPD Lieutenant

D.C. Court of Appeals Reverses Suspension of Retired MPD Lieutenant

The D.C. Court of Appeals reversed a 20-day suspension of an MPD Lieutenant represented by Crowley So attorneys Daniel S. Crowley and Katelyn A. Clarke. The suspension resulted from an off-duty encounter in which the Lieutenant attempted to deploy his OC spray at two men who threatened to assault him over a parking dispute.

MPD initially proposed a 20-day suspension based on seven alleged violations of its General Orders. Following an internal evidentiary hearing, MPD dropped five charges but sustained two and imposed the full 20-day suspension.

The MPD Lieutenant appealed to D.C.’s Office of Employee Appeals. Following another evidentiary hearing, an Administrative Law Judge found that MPD failed to prove the two charges. But rather than reverse the suspension, the ALJ sustained two of the charges MPD had dropped. The MPD Lieutenant appealed to the Superior Court and then to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals heard arguments in early January and issued its decision in May. The Court ruled that OEA’s authority to “uphold, reverse, or modify” a final agency decision did not permit the ALJ to evaluate charges that the agency itself did not sustain. The Court said “[i]t exceeds the OEA’s role to consider other possible reasons for disciplining the employee that the agency did not pursue or rejected. The OEA’s role is not to second-guess an agency’s deliberate decision to acquit an employee of charges.”

The Court of Appeals ordered that the suspension be vacated and that the MPD Lieutenant receive all back pay and any benefits lost due to the suspension. We will also pursue reimbursement of all attorneys’ fees the MPD Lieutenant paid to fight the unjustified suspension. You can read the Court’s decision here.