During a heated debate at the Oct. 11 city council meeting, the news was announced that Officer Chris Joyce will be returning to the Clarkston Police Department.
Officer Joyce was dismissed by Clarkston Police Chief Ernie Combs on Sept. 7. Around Sept. 15, Joyce requested a hearing on the dismissal.
According to City Manager Art Pappas, while collecting paperwork for Officer Joyce and preparing for the hearing request, city officials discovered that procedures had not been followed and the city charter had been violated.
Section 5.1, letter G, of the city charter states: ‘The head of each department shall have the power to hire, suspend or discharge the employees of that department with confirmation by the City Manager. Any employee who has been discharged may within ten days thereafter petition the Council to hear the facts regarding such discharge, and in any such case the Council may, in its own discretion, hold a hearing and inquire into such facts and may take such decisions as it considers proper.?
According to Pappas, he had not been contacted by Chief Combs concerning the discharge.
‘That was the problem,? Pappas later told this reporter, ‘I never received a letter or reason.?
In order to be in compliance with the city charter, Pappas made the determination, under the advisement of city attorney Thomas Ryan, to reduce Joyce’s dismissal to a suspension. The officer was reinstated with conditions to the department on Oct. 12. Due to the circumstances of the situation, Joyce withdrew his request for a hearing.
‘The chief’s on board with that, reluctantly, but he’s on board,? said Ryan during the council meeting.
When asked later, Pappas was uncertain what ‘with conditions? means in this context.
‘I believe that’s merely a legal term,? he stated. ‘I would be guessing at this point as to what that means.?
Pappas was confident though that if any conditions were applied to Joyce’s return, they would be worked through between Ryan, Chief Combs and Officer Joyce. Also, Pappas believes that any conflict leading up to the original dismissal is at this point negated by the suspension.
During the council’s discussion of this topic, a couple members voiced their surprise at the news.
‘When I just heard that he’s coming back, my blood pressure just went sky high,? stated council member Walter Gamble during the meeting.
‘I for one would like to hear more information before we hire him back,? said member David Savage. Mr. Savage was reminded by the city’s law counsel that Officer Joyce was not fired, and therefore, was not being hired back.
‘He was suspended, and our chief of police made a determination that he wasn’t working out in the department,? Savage then argued. ‘That’s important.?
Pappas said he was uncertain when Joyce would be returning to active duty and the date would be determined through scheduling in the police department.
In other police news, Chief Combs contract is currently up for renewal. The document expired on June 30 of this year. Pappas emphasized that this was not an issue. In fact, he commented that Combs? first contract took from January to July 1, 2003 to complete.
‘We haven’t really even thought of it yet,? said Pappas. ‘I have no idea yet when we’ll be addressing it.?