Maricopa County Sheriff Settles With Association
Leader
Since 2000, former Deputies Law Enforcement
Association (DLEA) President Steve Barnes has been involved in
litigation over his constructive discharge and the discriminatory
conduct of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. After extreme
discovery, motions and trial preparation, a settlement was reached
between the parties.
DLEA attorney Michael Napier says, "Steve’s
claim survived a Motion for Summary Judgment by the Sheriff and was set
for trial early next year."
Steve’s case has been financially supported by the
DLEA and the Legal Defense Fund of the Arizona Police Association (APA-LDF).
Without the assistance of the APA-LDF, pursuit of this claim would have
been prohibitively expensive to both Steve and the DLEA. The financial
assistance of APA-LDF was vital to the prosecution of this claim.
Arizona Police Association (APA) Executive Director
Sam Wooldridge says, "This is a victory for Steve and the DLEA, and
it is a big step forward for the law enforcement labor movement in
Arizona."
In his complaint, Steve charged that Sheriff Arpaio
and Chief Deputy David Hendershott had initiated investigations
following his interview by the FBI which was looking into conduct at the
Sheriff’s Office. It was also alleged that Arpaio and Hendershott set
out to discredit and destroy Steve because of their belief he had made
statements to the press which were adverse to the Office.
The settlement is to remain confidential at the
request of the Sheriff, so Steve and his attorney Mr. Napier were not
able to discuss the specific amount of the settlement.
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