OKC cop awarded $210K
Jury ruled veteran police officer was retaliated against
A jury Wednesday agreed a veteran Oklahoma City police officer was retaliated against for reporting his suspicions about a police captain to a federal prosecutor.
The jury awarded Lt. Phil A. Williams $210,000 in compensatory damages in his civil case against the police chief and the city.
“I would have been happy with a dollar,” Williams said as he left the courtroom.
“It’s about doing what’s right,” said Williams, 56, who now is stationed at the Oklahoma County jail. “And in the end, don’t ever be afraid to stand up for yourself.”
Police Chief Bill Citty shook his head as the verdict was announced. He had told the jury Monday, “I would never do anything like that.”
After the verdict, the police chief said he will continue to respect the judicial process regardless of his disappointment in the outcome.
“As chief, I have always tried to do the right thing to maintain the trust of the public and integrity of the Oklahoma City Police Department,” he said. “The decisions I made in the internal investigations of the cases heard by the jurors were made for the same reasons.”
Williams sued in 2014 in Oklahoma City federal court. He complained he was retaliated against after he uncovered evidence the police captain was involved in a large theft ring.
He told jurors the police chief took the investigation of the captain away from him in 2010 and turned it over to internal affairs. He said the police chief in 2012 put him on paid administrative leave after he reported his suspicions to the federal prosecutor.
“It was a control thing,” he
testified.
He said he later found out he was under police investigation himself because of his longtime friendship with a prominent Oklahoma City defense attorney, Scott Adams. He told jurors nobody ever had a problem with their relationship before.
A key witness in the case was the federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed Kumiega.
Jurors learned the prosecutor had raised concerns with his bosses in 2011 about whether the police captain had “friends” in internal affairs. “The ‘IA’ investigation has been prolonged and is over a year in length,” Kumiega wrote in a memo.
The prosecutor also noted in the memo that internal affairs had instructed him not to ask suspects about the police captain. “This request is unusual,” he wrote.
The police chief told jurors Monday that he would never cover up for
a dirty cop.
“Public trust is important to me,” he testified. “We don’t do that.”
He told jurors he gave Williams more than a year to find enough evidence to charge the police captain before sending the investigation to internal affairs.
The police chief told jurors he put Williams on administrative leave because of a police detective’s complaints in 2011.
Those complaints led to an investigation into whether Williams ever leaked confidential information to Adams or other defense attorneys.
Also investigated was whether Williams intimidated other parents into not pressing charges against his ex-wife for allegedly embezzling money from their son’s Boy Scout troop.
The investigation did not result in criminal charges against Williams.
The police chief testified he turned over all the internal affairs records on the police captain to the FBI after learning of the federal prosecutor’s concerns.
Jurors were told the investigation of the theft ring resulted in the recovery of millions of dollars in stolen property and the closure of an illegal “chop shop” where stolen trucks were dismantled.
Williams, then a sergeant in the special projects unit, was the lead investigator in what became known as “Operation Powerstroke.”
He uncovered evidence the police captain frequently visited the “chop shop” but did nothing, was seen driving a stolen truck and wrote a false police report to protect a friend, according to testimony.
The captain, Jay Digby, retired in 2013 and was never charged. He testified at the trial and denied knowledge of any illegal activity.
Eight jurors were chosen to hear the case when the trial began Jan. 9. One juror became ill this week and was excused. The remaining jurors deliberated six hours over two days before reaching their unanimous verdict. The jury foreman declined to comment Wednesday.
Jurors awarded Williams’ $105,000 on two claims against the city. They awarded him another $105,000 on three claims against the police chief.
Williams also had sued three now-retired police officials but U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot threw out the claims against them “as a matter of law” during the trial.
Attorneys for the city and the police chief asked the judge during the trial to throw out the claims against them, too. Those requests are still being considered by the judge.
If granted, the jury’s verdict would be set aside. If not, an appeal is expected.
A central issue in an appeal will be the judge’s decision not to let the jury see a 2012 FBI letter that called the police internal investigation of the captain “thorough, complete and professional.”