Kirk, Huth, Lange & Badalamenti, PLC obtained the dismissal of a wrongful discharge lawsuit filed against the City of Warren, Michigan.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, was brought by former Warren deputy police commissioner Matthew Nichols. Nichols was fired in June 2019 following an investigation into an incident in which other officers observed Nichols strike a shoplifting suspect who was in custody.
The lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Mark Goldsmith, who granted the city’s request to dismiss the claim on the grounds that it lacked merit.
Raechel Badalamenti, who served as lead counsel for Warren, was quoted in the Detroit News following the court’s ruling: “Due process was never violated by the city,” she said. “He (Nichols) said he should have been exempted for any departmental discipline and the city’s mayor was the only one who could decide his fate. This shows everyone in the police department has to abide by the same rules of conduct — whether you are the No. 2 command officer or a road patrolman. Your conduct has to be the same and there are consequences.”
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