Some will scream. Some will say 'atta boy'. I don't know enough details to comment.

Deputy fired over Parkland school shooting to be reinstated with back pay: reports
By Brie Stimson | Fox News
Fox News Flash top headlines for May 13
A Florida sheriff’s sergeant who lost his job after it was discovered he hid behind his car when a shooter at a high school in Parkland first opened fire will reportedly get his job back with back pay.

Sgt. Brian Miller, of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, was the first supervisor to respond to the 2018 shooting that took the lives of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

An arbitration ruling this week found the sheriff’s office “violated” Miller’s “constitutional due process rights and improperly terminated him,” the BSO Deputies Association, a union that represents deputies and sergeants said, according to the Miami Herald.

Miller will also receive full back pay and get back his seniority. He made more than $137,000 in 2018.

An investigation by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission found that although Miller arrived as the first shots were fired, he failed to go into the school and didn’t radio anyone for 10 minutes, The Herald reported.

“Miller failed to coordinate or direct deputies’ actions and did not direct or coordinate an immediate response into the school,” the report said. "Sergeant Miller’s actions were ineffective and he did not properly supervise the scene.”

Miller was one of four sheriff’s deputies, including Edward Eason, Joshua Stambaugh, and Scot Peterson, fired for “neglect of duty” related to the shooting.

The "Union" strikes again.

This makes my blood boil.

Unions should be abolished.

Unions have a lot of power in some places.

What a bunch of B.S......

FUGGING COWARD......

A coward. He job was to risk his life, enter that building and shoot the bad guy. He hid in the yard while 14 year old children were being slaughtered.
But for many cops, their main goal is "to go home safely to their family at the end of the shift."
This officer achieved his main goal.

And no sense of shame. He is not embarassed that everyone in the county knows him for a coward, he wants that high paying job back.

Does anyone know how the union's agreement with the department is worded?

No.

But Sheriff Israel was removed from his seat on the grounds that he failed to train his department properly.

Which is true. Their training was about two decades behind any prominent department.

Once that happened, all discipline (and at least one criminal case) were reviewed and adjusted accordingly. I don't know that, that is the reason this guy has been reinstated but it would not surprise me.

"An arbitration ruling this week found the sheriff’s office “violated” Miller’s “constitutional due process rights and improperly terminated him,”

This led me to believe that the termination process didn't follow what is outlined in the agreement.

That may be so.

But no amount of training can make up for cowardice.

Put him back on the street- - - - -he's a better target there.
Jerry

Who has constitutional due process rights with regard to termination of employment? If Florida is not an at will state or if they are and there is something in the union contract defining a process that still isn’t constitutional due process.

Weird BS way to put it.

If he was improperly trained by Israel that would seem to me to be the simplest thing to say in a press release.

None of this is to say that a police officer in that situation should keep his job after what he did just critical of the odd way the reason for giving him back his job is stated.

My point is that I suspect the people that made the termination decision didn't do so in accordance with the binding agreement between the two parties. I may be wrong on that.

You are mixing at least two separate legal concepts. Some, but not all, public employees have a property right to their employment which cannot be removed without due process. If management doesn't dot all the i's and cross all the t's, they will lose on appeal. Since this case involved arbitration, it was probably based on a union contract which in turn is subject to the state's public employment laws. These cases don't take place in a vacuum.

Arbitrators have enormous power because, although in theory their decisions may be appealed to a court of law, in practice they are seldom overturned.

I used to work with this stuff. It could be interesting, but it was never fun.

Paul

His defense may be he was following the sheriffs protocol. Seems I remember that being the case.

Still no real defense, armed LEO cowering while kids were being shot. Not many here would have done that regardless of the sheriff.

DF

+++++++

^^^^^^^^

Both Paul’s thanks!

My question was to do with the wording of the statement quoted in the OP that says constitutional due process. Seems like if it were an arbitration issue or if it were a problem of faulty training of the officer that’d be the reason cited.

I guess I was asking in an unclear way of that statement was muddying the waters?

Even if a person has an arbitrated settlement, a pre-approved process agreed upon between employer and union for settling such things, or isn’t liable due to faulty training, would it be accurate to say they’re restored to their position due to lack of constitutional due process?

Unless he was afraid the shooter was a jogger in which case, fear of confronting him might have been reasonable given the current political climate.

I know of multiple people in federal law enforcement with stacks of documented disciplinary, conduct and performance issues that were never terminated; or in the unlikely event that they were after years and years, were eventually rehired. These people are some of the worst individuals I’ve ever had the misfortune to either work with personally, or know of through others that did.

I’m talking about people with issues that were obviously mental or moral, or both. But in every case the union would step in and defend them to the end. Also, even in cases that ultimately went to arbitration, the presiding decider would almost always side with the employee citing administrative mistakes, or some such other technicality that really ignored the fact that the guy was a POS, and had no business carrying a gun and badge.

It got so bad that I know of a lot of supervisors who just basically quit writing up these types because you could work yourself to death doing it, only to have them turn it around on you, and later claim harassment on the part of management. Then you’d find yourlsef on the other end defending yourself from the accusations which they would then absolutely take seriously.

God forbid the person in question was female or “person of color” on top of everything else, in which case you can imagine how that would go.

The system is broken.

Why do we call cops?

Another fine example of law enforcement and the thin fat blue line that covers for them

When seconds count they're 10 minutes away. Most cops want us disarmed too.

Because you don't know how to act like a responsible adult. You can't solve your problems and want a governmental 3rd party do it for you.

Its a bodily function for some. Someone parks on a public street in front your house? Call the cops. Someone was mean to you on Facebook? Call the cops. Your neighbors rake their leafs onto your front yard? Call the cops.

Thats why, because adults act like babies.

Hell look at all these grown children that are tattling on their neighbors for not staying indoors.

Yep that retard got his job back. Just like all the worthless teachers that still have a job and certification, just like the ethic-less lawyers that still have their law license. Its everywhere. Corrupt judges still on the bench....the list goes on.

Yep.

Look at what happened to Lon Horiuchi, the infamous Ruby Ridge assassin (FBI sniper). He was promoted by FBI bureaucracy to point man for procuring sniper weapons. And look at how HS Precision sucked up to get those contracts, even featured that creep in their catalog. Bureaucracies often promote problem actors to vindicate/justify their management snafus...

Everyone playing the CYA game, then and now.

I wrote HS off my procurement list. I don't forget.

The FBI is even more disgraced today. They've dug a pretty deep hole.

DF

OK, I'll try to explain it. Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, but I used to work in this area. Know just enough law to be dangerous!

Think of two separate tracks or layers, each involving due process. As noted, this case probably involved a typical union contract or agreement, with a disciplinary provision, with boiler plate that includes due process, "just cause" and such. No constitutional issue here, statutory labor law.

However, if the employee obtained his job through a formal civil service merit system, and has completed probation, he now has a property right to his employment. Even at a lower level of government, constitutional rights kick in, hence, due process. Not all government employees have this, some are employed at will, mostly management.

For those inclined to get outraged, consider this. In some cases the system allows multiple layers of employment protection such as a civil service hearing, then a multi-step union grievance procedure ending with arbitration, sometimes an appeal to court added in, and if these don't work, a last ditch civil rights claim. "Officer Smith was so traumatized by the unfair discipline by a prejudiced captain/chief out to get him, that he became chronically depressed or got PTSD and required medical treatment, so he demands reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act", translation: he keeps his job; or takes disability retirement. Not all systems allow multiple layers, but some do.

You had better believe that union reps and squad room lawyers know how to play the game.

Paul

Another Government employee who doesn't have to do squat and can't be fired.

Is this a great country, or what?

Another thing people are missing here is that the Broward Coward is a willing participant in this debacle.

If that gutless bastard had even once ounce of human decency, or remorse, he would not be suing for his reinstatement and back pay.

That makes him even lower in my book, than what he was before. Didn't think the bar could be lowered, but it can.

What I want to know is HTF a deputy sheriff makes 138,000 a year.

Could be easy. Overtime gigs, possible vacation buyback, longevity pay, specialty pay, etc.

I deal with arbitrators frequently, doing on-site evaluations of claims to the Better Business Bureau on automotive warranty issues. I'm the guy the arbitrator sends out to try to verify the concern, based on 60+ years as a professional auto mechanic and 40 years of that time as an ASE-certified Master Automotive Technician. My report goes directly to the arbitrator, with a minimum of contact with the parties in the dispute. Sounds fair and reasonable, right? Here's the problem- - - - -most of the arbitrators I deal with are utterly incompetent. They have no more business evaluating a complex auto repair dispute than a hairdresser does passing judgement on a brain surgeon's work. One "arbitrator" I worked with on a problematic 10-speed Ford transmission with an intermittent shifting problem was a marriage counselor! They ask stupid questions that I have no way of answering with any degree of accuracy, and I'm forbidden to discuss the matter with someone who speaks my language- - - -the dealer, technician, or service manager who is usually trying to resolve the problem,. nor the car owner who has spent huge quantities of money on something they're not pleased with.

A lot of the problems are caused by "friction:"- - - - -a monthly payment rubbing up against a warranty after some slick-talking salesman sells somebody a vehicle they can't afford to pay for!
Jerry

That would be appropriate justice.

Not a bad gig.

Draw big bucks, nice pension for life after 20 yrs.

Do yo thing, duck and hide when bullets start flying.

Play the game, get those promotions.

What's not to like.

DF

There's one retired Broward coward that occasionally comes in my favorite LGS. I can't stand the sight of that prick and my bud who runs the shop knows it. He is a pompous ass clown. Parks smack dab in the entrance drive to the shop (and all the other shops in the plaza), right off the main thoroughfare. He thinks my other bud, #2 in the shop, does a great job cleaning and lubricating guns and getting them looking their best, which he does. Everybody knows that. But, he doesn't want to pay for the service. Never fails he'll bring his shotguns in before duck or turkey season and expect Tom to do them up righteous for free. Burns my ass.

I always see an Oh Schit look on my bud's face through the glass when I walk up to the door because he KNOWS I will engage the moron on some level of his incompetence whenever I see that turd.

My first thought, followed closely by biased/corrupt judge

Why in fugg does your buddy allow it?! I’d tell him to GFH?

I don't know. I chalked that up to clumsy wording by the media, but there may be something to it that I am not aware of.

Dryfly, I don't know. Maybe they figure he'll buy something at some point. All I know is I can't stand the sight of that prick. Wish I still had my old F250 I used to haul material around in when I was doing a lot of rehabs. I'd ram his phugkin ass.

There is probably an MOU in place that has all the guidelines for discipline and the termination process. If the county just blast through firing people on the spot, they union is going to win. The county is obligated to "build the gallows" stick by stick to hang someone.
FWIW, I think he should have stayed fired. Wasn't he the one that retired and got his pension?

never ever trust a leo.

No. That was that useless pos Scot Peterson.

Meh,..... it's called gutless management afraid to stand their ground

Lol, Smear some cat [bleep] and sardines good and deep into the air vent intakes of his ride then wipe the residue off the outside next time he’s in there bloviating. . .

Just like in any other profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones.

^^^This^^^

They need to tar and feather that POS and run his sorry ass out of Florida on a rail. 😡

Not the unions so much, but the lawyers, the law and, the legislators. Arbitration is a legal process and lawyers run it.

Haha. Good one. He probably parks right in front of the door because he's afraid of just that. lol.

Some of you must be having an existential moment. He is white so it's good but some of the kids who died were white so it's bad but some kids were black so it's good but he's a coward so it's bad. Frick, some of you must be torn up inside.

Trash

As a guy who has been on the job for a little over 20 years I find this unbelievable. I don't know how anyone who called themselves a cop could live with vapor locking like that under stress. Every time you think Florida has sunk as low as it can go, Florida out Florida's itself.
Patrick

The good ones stay just as silent and ineffective
as the bad ones in calling out the bad ones.

Severely screw up as a cop?.. just deny it and
run back to your thin blue line and union bunker.

You got a key that will scratch paint?

Can the victims' relatives initiate a civil suit?

No, I am with him on this...NEVER.

word

All I can say is good luck with that should you ever find yourself really needing one... YMMV.

Hell, that was a given it was going to happen. Courts have ruled for years the police have no duty to protect individuals, only the general public. Police have been let off after setting outside a persons house listening to them get murdered and doing nothing.

Worked in a GM plant over a summer in the 90's. There was a guy named Sweet Al that rode around on his forklift like it was an El Dorado. Woman that worked there told me he got busted with $20k worth of stolen stuff from the plant in his barn like 15 years back. He was off for 6 years after being fired. The union got him his job back with 6 years full back pay including vacation time. Same plant. There was a guy that had a little area off to the side and he sat int here and played a guitar and sold snacks and coffee. He was a pretty nice guy. One day i asked him "Like do you work here or whats the deal?" He told me he got ran over by a forklift and the guy was drunk and pissed hot like 10 years prior. So he worked out a deal instead of suing GM they gave him a job that doesnt exist. As long as he clocked in every day, clocked out for lunch and clocked back in after lunch they paid him 10 hours a day 5 days a week. He left every single day after he clocked back in at lunch. That job I had never seen people get away with the $hit they did because of the union.

Union is a dirty word to me. Be Well, Rustyzipper.

I just wanna interject a word here on behalf of all the SRO’s (school resource officers) that do a great job.

A good school Cop wears a bunch of hats, besides all the regular controlled substance possession and assault arrests, the occasional firearm in a vehicle and less occasional firearm on a kid bust, plus the friggin endless vandalism/graffiti documentations.....

...a good School Cop is a first interface for many kids with the law/legal system, and a good School Cop is a person who scared kids can confide in and especially abused kids can go to for help.

I was shocked recently to learn how little School Cops in this city make, significantly less than teachers. The good ones never make the news so ya never hear about them.

That is an absurd pay even if you include overtime. A magical government job. I spent 8 years driving a Big Rig over the road. Gone from home 14 days in a row, and working 12, 14, and 16 hours a day. Got home and got 2 days off. As we now know, trucks are the life's blood of the American economy. One of the most vital jobs.
I was making $65,000 a year.