Date: 02-24-2007

Case Style: Rex Shrum v. City of Coweta, et al.

Case Number: 6:03-cv-00465-KEW

Judge: Kimberly E. West

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Muskogee County

Plaintiff's Attorney:

Jim Moore and Doug Vernier of Moore & Vernier, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Defendant's Attorney:

Jim Hodges, Shanann Passley and Rebecca Hunter of Eller & Detrich, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Description:

Rex Shrum sued the City of Coweta, Oklahoma and others claiming that the was discrminated against because of his exercise of his religious freedoms under the United States Constitution. He claimed that Coweta Police Chief Derrik Palmer engaged in a pattern of retaliation against Faternal Order of Police members in an effort to bust the union.

Shrum is both a law enforcement officer and a clergyman. After eight apparently successful years of juggling the two responsibilities, his relationship with the management of the police department soured, and the Chief of Police allegedly rearranged Officer Shrum's work schedule so it would conflict with his duties as a minister. Forced to choose between his police and his ministerial responsibilities, Officer Shrum resigned from the police department and filed this lawsuit.

Rex Shrum has served as pastor of the Coweta Church of Christ, in eastern Oklahoma, since April 1990. In 1994, he joined the police force of the City of Coweta. He arranged with his new employer to give him Wednesday evenings and Sundays off, so that he could continue to carry out his ministerial duties. He worked the day shift Monday through Friday as a detective. Officer Shrum was also a member of the local lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which was the certified bargaining agent for its members in the Coweta Police Department.

In early 2002 Officer Shrum was reassigned to work as a patrolman under Sergeant Joe Gist. In the new position he would continue on the day shift but would not have Sundays off. To clear Sundays for his ministerial duties, Officer Shrum asked Sergeant Gist for permission to move to the evening or midnight shift. Sergeant Gist agreed, provided that Officer Shrum could arrange with the evening or midnight shift supervisor to have an officer replace him on the day shift. Officer Shrum made the necessary arrangements with Sergeant Sullivan, who was the midnight shift supervisor and also the president of the FOP lodge. Another officer moved to the day shift; Officer Shrum worked the midnight shift and was off Sundays and Mondays.

On January 8, 2002, Officer Shrum received his semi-annual performance review. In his review of Officer Shrum six months earlier, Assistant Chief Palmer had marked two of the twelve evaluated areas as ones where "improvement is necessary": "Adherence to Policy" and "Interpersonal Relationship." His new supervisor, Sergeant Gist, conducted the January 8 review and marked the same two areas "unsatisfactory." In explaining the rating for "Adherence to Policy," Sergeant Gist noted that Officer Shrum had been "disciplined this period. However, [he has] not had any problems recently." For "Interpersonal Relationship," Sergeant Gist wrote that a "situation" with Officer Shrum had "go[ne] bad with another supervisor in [the] presence of subordinate specific problems with Officer Shrum's performance or the specific remedial training that was needed. Chief Palmer did recall that if Officer Shrum failed to work Sundays under this new arrangement, he could be fired.

Remedial training was also ordered for Sergeant Sullivan, who had testified in Officer Shrum's favor at arbitration. Sergeant Sullivan received a negative review in February 2002, was demoted and assigned remedial training in March 2002, and was fired in April 2002. An arbitrator ordered his reinstatement and called the case "a classic example of what not to do when administering discipline." The arbitrator later reiterated the order and found that Sergeant Sullivan's halting reinstatement had been marked by "the taint of retaliation."

On March 17, two days after the letter from Chief Palmer, Sergeant Gist instructed Officer Shrum to begin working the day shift on March 19. Concerned about a conflict with his ministerial duties, Officer Shrum asked Sergeant Gist whether he could continue to have Sundays off. The parties dispute Sergeant Gist's answer. The Defendants maintain that Sergeant Gist told Officer Shrum that he could not take Sundays off because a more senior officer had selected that day, and according to the collective-bargaining agreement off-days were selected by seniority. Officer Shrum's evidence is quite different. He submitted a deposition of Sergeant Gist to the effect that another officer was willing to trade Sunday shifts with Officer Shrum. According to Sergeant Gist, Chief Palmer damages from Chief Palmer and from the City Manager, Mr. Whitlock, both of whom he sued in their individual capacities.

Outcome: Plaintiff's verdict for $450,000 including $100,000 in punitive damages and $350,000 in punitive damages against Palmer individually.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unavailable

Defendant's Experts: Unavailable

Comments: None