Appeal process for fired lieutenant done

Drumm focused on four aspects of the investigation that Police Chief James Troiano launched in August 2009. He agreed with all of Troiano’s conclusions that Fulwood misused his authority, influenced a police matter that involved his family member, used confidential police information for personal use and then released that information to his son.

“I have lost all trust in your ability to conduct law enforcement matters in a fair and ethical manner,” Drumm wrote. “The rules that apply to all should also apply to you. I believe that you have put personal issues and personal benefit ahead of your sworn duty to others.”

The incident occurred in early 2008 when Fulwood was acting as interim police chief before Troiano began work with the city. Drumm was made aware of the incident when an anonymous citizen reported it to him in August 2009.

According to interviews conducted during the investigation, Fulwood got word from a High Springs officer that Alachua Police Officer Adam Joy had seen Fulwood’s son in a known drug area in Alachua.

Fulwood reportedly drove his son in his unmarked police vehicle while off duty to confront Joy in an Alachua convenience store parking lot. According to testimony from three Alachua officers present at the scene, Fulwood interrogated Joy in a loud, confrontational tone.

“I would say that I treated Lt. Fulwood differently because he was higher ranking and he’s from another agency,” Joy stated to the investigator. “And if he was a citizen, I would have handled it differently. I would have immediately asked him to calm down and warned him that what they were doing was disorderly conduct and acted appropriately.”

However Fulwood stated he was acting only as a concerned parent and did not cross the line into confrontational. “I was there as a parent, not as a cop, not as a lieutenant, not as the acting chief of police of this agency,” he told the investigator.

“I was there for me and this officer to confront my son so my son couldn’t lie to me,” Fulwood said later in the interview.

But in the last phase of the appeal process that ended last week, Drumm said Fulwood’s actions violated his duties as a police officer since he purposely sought out and confronted Joy and released confidential information to his son.

However Fulwood and his Police Benevolent Association representative, Rick Nelson, have expressed concerns on how the investigation was conducted.

Nelson said Troiano violated Fulwood’s due process rights by using progressive discipline from a past, incomplete investigation to fire him for the current investigation. At the time of his termination, Fulwood was also appealing a 40-hour suspension he received in October for allegedly making an offensive comment to police dispatcher Lindsay Powell.

Nelson said because Fulwood was attempting to appeal his 40-hour suspension to the City Commission, Troiano could not have used progressive discipline to terminate Fulwood for the Alachua police incident.

But City Attorney Thomas Depeter delivered a memo to commissioners last month that the City Charter does not allow a city employee to appeal a firing to the commission, only the city manager.

Nelson has said Fulwood’s due process rights were violated in the investigation of his alleged comments to Powell. Powell told investigators Fulwood said her husband needed ‘to get off his ass and get a friggin job’ in July, though Fulwood has adamantly denied that story.

When Troiano launched the internal investigation to find out, Nelson says two major violations occurred that should have been cleared in the appeals process.

Nelson said when Troiano notified Fulwood he had violated the HSPD rule Improper Conduct, he did not identify which section of the rule Fulwood had violated, preventing them from being able to form a solid defense during the appeal procedures in December.

Troiano corrected his mistake in the first phase of appeals and specified Fulwood had violated the section that prohibits HSPD employees from insulting a person’s disability, since Powell’s husband was on Worker’s Compensation at the time. He also added two more violations during the appeal process – violations of ‘respect’ and ‘improper language.’

Adding those two additional violations and the fact that someone is injured, not disabled, when on Workers Compensation, should have cleared Fulwood from receiving a 40-hour suspension, Nelson said.

Nelson also raises concerns on how the investigator hired to the case, Gainesville police Sgt. Jorge Campos, cancelled his promise to appear at an appeal hearing for the case. Nelson said he confirmed Campos to attend a Dec. 16 appeal hearing to clarify statements he made in his summary of interviewing witnesses, but Campos cancelled his promise to appear and would not reschedule only days later.

Nelson questions the phone call Troiano made to Campos when Nelson listed him as a witness. Troiano says Campos cancelled on his own.

With his appeal options with the city run dry, Fulwood will now rely on a pending lawsuit to prove that he was punished without due process and out of personal differences with Troiano.

In his lawsuit filed Jan. 29, Fulwood alleges Troiano acted in retaliation against him when Fulwood filed four complaints with Drumm about Troiano on Nov. 2 and Nov. 6.

“I am sincerely sorry to the community that it has come to this,” Fulwood said in a recent interview. “But once the personal attacks on my character, integrity and professionalism began I was left with no other choice but to defend myself.”