Lawsuit filed against City of Russellville
By Staff
Attorneys acting on behalf of two Russellville police officers filed a lawsuit against the City of Russellville Wednesday, claiming the city did not follow the law when hiring its police chief.
The suit, filed by Officers Johnnie D. McMicken and Robert Pace, alleges that the Civil Service Board did not furnish the mayor and city council with a list of candidates from the police department during the consideration period for the Chief of Police position.
According to the Civil Service Board Rule 2, Section 1-4 and Rule 1 Sections 13 and 17, the board should have given the mayor and council two lists: One list with departmental names to be promoted from within and one list with candidates from the general public.
"The Civil Service Board only gave the mayor and council one list that contained names of three candidates from the public," William Underwood, attorney for Pace, said.
The suit asks for attorney fees and compensation for the plaintiffs' mental distress and anguish. The suit also states that the selection process humiliated McMicken and Pace.
"The officers were humiliated because they were told they were wrong when they tried to bring it to people's attention that the Civil Service Board did not follow the law," Underwood said.
Within six months of the selection of the Police Chief, both Pace and McMicken filed grievances with the city clerk saying that the city failed to follow procedure when selecting the new police chief, Underwood said.
"This is not a slam against the current police chief," Underwood said. "We are not saying that he is not doing a good job but three names from within the department should have been considered."
The main thing that McMicken and Pace want out of the suit is for the City of Russellville to acknowledge that they did not follow the law and that they were wrong, Underwood said.
Andrew Carpenter, son of District Court Judge George Carpenter, will represent McMicken in the suit.
Defendants named in the case are City of Russellville, Johnny Brown, mayor; Craig Grissom, council member; David Kennedy, council member; Burns Saint, council member; Arthur Elliott, council member; Tinker Malone, council member; Russellville Civil Service Members, Terry Zills and Jack Landers.
Mayor Brown, City Attorney Jeff Bowing, and the Civil Service Board did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
