City of Peoria Press Release
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City of Peoria Takes High Ground With PPOA Complaint
Response to accusations of Peoria Police Officer's Association
10/25/2011
PEORIA, Ariz. (October 25, 2011) On October 5, the city of Peoria was
presented a Notice of Claim on behalf of the Peoria Police Officer's Association
(PPOA) and the organization's President/CEO and Director, as well as a city of
Peoria employee, Police Officer Cameron Lebbon. In the claim, the association
and Lebbon claim the city conducted an internal investigation which he claims
publically defamed him, in which case he endured public humiliation, and loss
of reputation.
The fact-finding inquiry was started when concerns were brought to Human
Resources by police employees about the treatment being given by Officer Lebbon.
The fact-finding inquiry was conducted by the City Attorney's office in order to
give the city advice and direction regarding the merits of the race and gender
discrimination allegations.
The inquiry was handled by an outside agency hired by the City Attorney. It was
determined that at the time, there were no further actions against Lebbon were
warranted.
The Claim requests that the fact-finding inquiry document be made available to
the PPOA and Lebbon. The city believes the document the union is requesting is
shielded from disclosure by the attorney-client and work product privileges.
Because this is a legal issue, the city filed suit in the Superior Court of
Maricopa County on October 5, 2011 to resolve issues surrounding the disclosure
of the document. The ruling is not expected from the court for 60 days.
The city of Peoria has a strong and positive working relationship with the PPOA,
as well as other represented groups within the city. Above all, the leadership
of Peoria has always felt the importance of protecting the rights of all
individuals involved in this course of action, and therefore, has taken a
"high-ground" approach when dealing with this matter. When representatives from
the PPOA spoke at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 18, claiming
their union rights were being infringed upon, the city has decided to express
the facts in this matter.
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