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The
following letter, written by a satisfied FOP Legal
Defense Plan participant, was sent to Keenan &
Associates (Claims Administrator for The FOP Legal
Defense Plan, Inc.):
Cara,
I
wanted to write you and let you know how pleased
I am with Craig Curwood’s representation
of myself against the City of Emporia in its attempt
to “railroad” me out of a job.
Since
we last spoke in March (04), (when you approved
my FOP paid lawyer, Curwood), the City illegally
suspended me for 29 days and demoted me in rank
for accidentally stopping a wrong vehicle. The
City has also tried to alter its own grievance
procedure. During this entire period of time,
(Feb. 9th – June 20th), the City has kept
me on administrative leave. This has been an attempt
to encourage me to leave as I have lost about
$5,000 in overtime. The City has NEVER in its
history kept an employee on leave for such an
extended time.
The
City has also now agreed that I DO have the right
to continue with the grievance procedure to try
and further reduce the punishment. This was done
because Mr. Curwood “Showed” them
they were violating their own procedures. (They
had tried to claim that a meeting under the, “Police
Officer Bill Of Rights”, requirements was
a “Grievance” hearing and claimed
a time limit for the grievance started with that
meeting. They further tried to claim I had missed
a time limit based on that.) Thanks to Mr. Curwood,
they have backed off that assertion.
Most
importantly, the City is letting me go back to
work as of today, June 26, 2004 and the grievance
procedures have been agreed to in writing. All,
thanks to Mr. Curwood, I don’t know what
I would have done had I not had his representation.
In
short, I went from and illegal suspension of 29
days down to five; from a demotion in rank to
not being demoted; from all my procedural guarantees
being taken away to having them fully complied
with; from being on indefinite leave to returning
to work today, and all because of the FOP Legal
Defense Plan and the representation the Plan afforded
me through Mr. Curwood. I am convinced that once
the grievance procedure runs its course and I
get to the final step of a “three person
panel”, the punishment will be further reduced.
I
wanted you to know how well the Plan and Mr. Curwood
have served me THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!
Sincerely,
Frank N. Mainwaring
TOTAL PAID TO ATTORNEY: $7,855.00
Can you afford to pay these fees, out of your
pocket, for representation?
