NEWS > 24 July 2006

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MLive.com - MI,USA
24 July 2006

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Last appeal weighed four years

GRAND RAPIDS -- After losing an appeal to get his job back, a former Wyoming police officer and lawyers from his union will have to decide whether to ask the State Supreme Court to review the issue.

Bret Myer was fired from his job more than four years ago after his supervisors at the city decided he violated a code of ethics and rules regarding off-duty behavior.

In 2001, Marshall Police investigated Myer on an allegation he had sex with a 15-year-old boy.

The lone charge filed against Myer -- a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for being out with the teen after Marshall's city curfew -- was dropped by the Calhoun Country Prosecutor's Office.

Wyoming officials fired him anyway. The matter then went into arbitration, and the arbitrator decided Myer should be reinstated.

City Manager Curtis Holt along with former Police Chief Edward Edwardson decided the arbitrator was wrong, and they would not hire him back. Myer sued the city.

In September 2004, Kent County Circuit Court Judge George Buth reversed the arbiter's decision.

"There should be little difference between the on-duty and off-duty behavior of a police officer," Buth said.

Myer concedes he met the boy in a gay Internet chat room Oct. 28, 2001.

However, he said the boy represented himself as being older than 18. It wasn't until the two met at a Marshall gas station several days later he discovered the boy was just days away from his 16th birthday.

No sexual or romantic contact ever occurred, said Myer and the teen, according to police records.

After learning his age, Myer said he drove the teen to his parents' home. Myer said he had the teen stay overnight at his Grand Rapids home after both parents had been informed about their son's sexual orientation -- and were aware of the officer's age and that he was gay.

Buth's ruling stated Myer violated the clear language of the city's employment contract.

Myer acknowledged he used poor judgment but said his intentions never went beyond the best interests of the boy. He appealed the decision to the State Court of Appeals.

Last week, two of the three appeals court judges upheld the Circuit Court decision. The decision states Myer did not adhere to the standards, and the arbitrator's finding violates public policy.

"It is of no import that the officer has not been convicted of a crime," the decision read.

Myer's lawyer, Union attorney Mark Douma, said he is disappointed by the decision but is unsure anything is to be gained by asking the Michigan Supreme Court to review the case.

Douma said he does not believe Myer currently works as a police officer.

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Article sourced from

MLive.com - MI,USA24 July 2006

Last appeal weighed four years

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MLive.com - MI,USA
24 July 2006