Columbus taxpayers to pay $610K to settle two federal lawsuits
Columbus taxpayers are on the hook for $610,000 in payments to settle two federal lawsuits against the city, one filed by a Black police officer accusing the Division of Police of racism and another by a municipal court employee alleging verbal harassment by a judge.
The City Council is expected to approve the settlements at its meeting Monday.
One case involves former Columbus police Officer Kevin Morgan, whom the city fired after 13 years with the force. The city is now offering $400,000 to settle a federal lawsuit in which Morgan said he was treated vastly differently from white officers during a probe of special-duty time he spent working security while off duty.
Morgan was accused by the Division of Police of failing to work special-duty time, where officers work security on their time off, while at the same time collecting pay for the hours. Morgan denied the allegation, attributing the issue to poor record-keeping on the part of his supervisor and a flexible work schedule requested by the apartment complex that had hired him.
Former Police Chief Kim Jacobs fired Morgan in 2015, even though white officers who had “a greater degree of timereporting misconduct” and had admitted to wrongdoing had not been fired, but instead suspended and later reinstated.
The city initially denied Morgan an arbitration hearing after he filed his lawsuit, which he said was retaliation.
“There was evidence of innocence in this case,” said Fredrick Gittes, Morgan's attorney. He noted that witnesses, including a security guard who worked at an adjacent grocery store, had vouched seeing Morgan working weekend nights despite supposedly being off.
“They never proved that he did it. They didn't even really investigate this case for like a year,” Gittes said, making it difficult for former tenants Morgan had interacted with during nights he was scheduled to be off to vouch for him.
“They didn't investigate my case thoroughly. What it boiled down to was the color of my my skin,” Morgan told The Dispatch in 2020.
The city will pay Morgan $100,000 in back pay, $117,783 for damages other than wages, including emotional distress, and $19,500 to his Ohio police pension. Gittes will receive $162,717.
The payments are not to be considered an admission of liability on the part of the city, the settlement states.
The city also agrees to reinstate Morgan without interruption in service back to 2015 and to allow him to retire in good standing, and he may inform prospective employers that he was never fired.
“The city will provide him with the badge afforded to officers who retire in good standing,” the settlement says.
Glenn Mcentyre, spokesman for the city Department of Public Safety, declined to comment on the settlement. He referred questions to the city attorney's office, which also didn't comment.
The city attorney's office provided copies of the settlements late Thursday.
The other settlement involves allegations made by Andrea Boxill, a former special-dockets coordinator, against Franklin County Municipal Court Judge James P. O'grady, including that he created a hostile work environment by making sexist and racist comments over several years.
A federal magistrate denied the city's request for summary judgment in the Boxill case in March, ordering a trial. Taxpayers would pay for a $210,000 settlement in that case if the deal is approved by the City Council on Monday.
Boxill, who is Black, began working for the Municipal Court in 2004, and began working with O'grady, who before being elected to the bench in 2011 was a bailiff to another judge. Boxill testified that O'grady commonly used inappropriate language, regularly calling her a “f-----g idiot” and once referred to a female as “smoking hot.”
Boxill left the court for a post with then-gov. John Kasich after being demoted in 2014, and is now employed by Columbus Public Health.
“We have long asserted that there is an utter failure of the court to police its own,” said Michael Garth Moore, Boxill's attorney. “Even after repeated settlements in these cases is evidence in my mind that the court has not changed.”
A copy of the settlement provided by Moore shows that he will collect almost $100,000 of the $210,000 payout, while the remainder goes to Boxill. The payment shall not be construed as an admission of any liability or wrongdoing by O'grady, the settlement says.
O'grady, who is up for re-election in November, declined to be interviewed but provided a written statement:
“Settling this lawsuit was in no way an admission of my liability. It was a difficult choice, but I weighed the cost and time involved in litigation when I decided to resolve this case. I look forward to putting this situation behind me and continuing to serve as a Franklin County Municipal Court Judge. I am proud of my work of finding innovative solutions to keep our community safe and addressing root causes of crime to keep people out of the justice system.”
Twice elected as a Republican, O'grady switched parties this year, and is now a Democrat. wbush@gannett.com @Reporterbush