Two more fired Greenwood Village police officers have sued the city and the former police chief because they believe they were terminated due to their involvement in a union.
Former officers Bry Jones and David Wroblewski filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday. In it, they say they were wrongly terminated because of their participation in a union other than the Fraternal Order of Police chapter run by the police administration.
“I think it’s retaliation,” said their lawyer, David Lane. “The union was becoming a difficulty for the city, and they were looking for any excuse for firing these guys.”
But police officials say the officers were fired for improperly entering a Motel 6 room in pursuit of a suspect.
“The whole thing’s a myth,” said attorney Tom Rice, who is representing Greenwood Village. “Their terminations were completely unrelated to any union activity.”
Former Police Chief Donnie Perry and Lt. Joseph Harvey also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Fired police Officer Pat Cillo, who was president of the officer-organized union affiliated with the AFL-CIO, filed a similar lawsuit in December against the chief and department.
In June 2009, Cillo, Jones, Wroblewski and other officers responded to a report of a sexual assault at the Motel 6. The sister of the suspect told police that he was on parole and known to be armed.
After about two hours, police knocked on the door but did not get a response. They opened the door with a key provided by the motel manager, according to the lawsuit.
The door opened about an inch before the security latch engaged. Jones identified himself as an officer and the suspect said it was OK for police to enter, the suit says.
All three former officers say their actions were by the book, but the city says an internal investigation determined they had violated the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
Perry later fired the officers.
“They can’t legally fire them for being in a union, so they trumped up these bogus charges,” Lane said.
The lawsuit says other, non-union officers at the same scene received minor or no discipline at all. It also says new hires were told that joining the International Union of Police Associations AFL-CIO Local 305 would hinder their advancement.
Before he retired last year, Perry told The Denver Post that he did nothing wrong.
“I believe everything I did was honest, above board and by the book,” he said. “I know people from Day One disagreed with my decision.”
Wroblewski had worked for the department for almost 20 years before he was fired. He had received high grades of “commendable” for his performance, the suit said.
Jones was a supervisor for the cadet program and was on the SWAT team for four years, according to the lawsuit.
In his 28 years with the department, Cillo received numerous commendations, including a medal of valor and a distinguished-service cross.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
