PITTSBURGH — A police officer is suing his former employer, alleging that he was falsely accused of misconduct and unfairly terminated.
Alex Byers filed a complaint on March 8 in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against South Connellsville Borough, Jerry Reagan, Don Ringer and Jim Manges.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff is seeking damages for an incident that took place while the plaintiff was employed by the defendant as a part-time patrol officer from March 2015 to April 19, 2018. On Jan. 4, 2018, the plaintiff was approached by Regan, Ringer and Manges and was told of a new leadership structure in which Manges was named the supervisor, the suit claims.
The plaintiff was allegedly told to practice shooting at South Connellsville Road on Jan. 11, 2018 and traveled to the gun range in a marked patrol car. The plaintiff stopped at a friend's house to pick up a gun-cleaning kit per the defendant's recommendation and noticed that defendants were taking pictures of him, he says.
The plaintiff was told that he should not come in for work on Jan. 13, 2018 because he was a part-time employee and was told that he should not have used his patrol car while not on duty, he says. The plaintiff was disciplined on Jan. 13 and 17, the suit says.
On Feb. 26, 2018, he was accused of visiting a private resident for an hour while he was on duty, which the plaintiff denies, and on March 15, 2018 he was written up by the defendant, the suit says.
On April 19, 2018, the defendants again accused the plaintiff of being parked at a resident's home for hours, which the plaintiff denies. The plaintiff was subsequently terminated from his position, the suit says.
The defendants are accused of violation of constitutional rights, retaliation, and conspiracy,
The plaintiff is seeking all reasonable sums due, attorney fees and court costs and trial by jury. The plaintiff is represented by Joel Sansone of the Law Offices of Joel Sansone in Pittsburgh.
The Allegheny County Court Case No. is 2:19-CV-00254-RCM.