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Last updated on Monday, September 15, 2014
(SEYMOUR) - Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott once again is requesting the Board of Public Works and Safety dismiss a police officer who hasn’t been to work for six months.
Officer Jerry Polly remains on unpaid medical leave for an injury he claims to have received while on duty.
The Seymour Tribune reports that the worker compensation claim was disputed by the city and remains in litigation.
The injury involves lower-back issues from wearing his gun belt and vest and sitting in his police vehicle for hours at a time, Polly says. He claims the city is not providing him the medical attention he deserves as a city employee.
Abbott originally filed chief's charges April 24 with a recommendation to fire Polly. He withdrew those charges last month because Polly had filed for a Family and Medical Leave absence, which required the city to hold his position for a certain amount of time.
Abbott says, that approved leave time has since expired.
The new charges are the same, but Abbott declined to make the document public because it contains confidential medical information.
Abbott says, those concerning alleged violation of rules and procedures -- not criminal charges -- that Abbott can take to the board of works for potential disciplinary action.
Abbott said he can't hire anyone to fill the position until Polly, a nearly 15-year veteran of the department, is no longer employed by the city.
The board gave approval Thursday for the city's legal department to reinitiate dismissal procedures.
Polly did not attend Thursday's meeting but says doctors and specialists will not clear him to return because of his back issues. He said he has filed for disability, which is still under review.
Attorney Travis Thompson, sitting in for city attorney Rodney Farrow, says the board would send Polly another notice of his rights as required by law. That notice allows Polly to request a hearing before the board to present his case.
He will have five days to request the public hearing, which then must be conducted within 30 days.
Should he request the hearing, the board of works will act as judge.
Polly says his attorney will request the hearing on his behalf.
"They want me to resign, but I'm not going to do that because that would be clearing them from all liability," Polly says.
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