MORGANTOWN – The City of Morgantown has announced it has resolved litigation with its police officers.
“The City of Morgantown is pleased to announce that through continued discussions, all pending litigation between the city and a number of city police officers has been resolved, and the city and its police officers look forward to continuing to cooperate to serve the citizens of Morgantown,” the city said in a June 3 statement. “Through these discussions, both the city management and the officers have gained a better appreciation of the positions of one another and their respective duties to the public for fiscal responsibility and the safety and well-being of the public they serve. We look forward to working together to meet those goals and responsibilities as we move forward.”
Attorney Teresa Toriseva, who is representing the 43 members of the Mon-Preston Fraternal Order of Police Local 87, agreed.
Toriseva
“It’s a great day for public safety in Morgantown,” Toriseva told The West Virginia Record. “The Morgantown police officers are committed to protecting the people and property of their city.”
Further details about the settlement are not yet available.
Last year, a federal judge remanded two cases – one filed by Morgantown police officers and the other by firefighters – accusing the city of retaliation back to Monongalia Circuit Court where they originally were filed in 2022.
The two lawsuits – one by the police officers and the other by 48 members of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 313 – originally were filed after the groups issued a statement regarding their votes of no confidence in the entire city government to “competently administer public safety.”
In the complaints, the members of the Morgantown fire and police departments claimed retaliatory actions following previous legal actions regarding pay and benefit issues. They also filed civil service complaints with the city seeking hearings on the issues.
The firefighter case is scheduled for mediation sometime this month.
“The backbone of any city, large or small, is its public safety servants,” Toriseva told The Record in 2022 when the suits originally were filed. “Firefighters and police officers are a city’s main resource.
“The laws protect them from retaliation and mistreatment on the job that can be brought on by the changing winds of city politics. These lawsuit filings today aim to enforce the state laws that city officials refuse to follow.”
In the police complaint, the officers said their department also was understaffed. As of August 31, 2022, it was authorized to have 76 officers. At the time of the filing of the lawsuit in 2023, there were 55 officers. Recruitment was an issue for the police department as well, the complaint states.
The officers said the city’s new pay scheme also reduced their pay and benefits, which “affected department morale and threaten public safety as trained, experienced police officers seek other employment further adding to the staffing crisis.”
The complaint said the new pay scheme reduced overtime availability for police officers, eliminated the ability to accrue additional sick leave, additional vacation leave and additional holiday leave. It also changed how compensatory time can be used.
Both groups accused the city of violating their rights to petition for redress of grievances, official retaliation by city government actors, violating the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act and violating the state Whistle-Blower Law. The firefighters also accused the city of violating public policy and violating the Takings Clause of the state constitution.
The police officers were represented by Toriseva, Joshua Miller and Michael Kuhn of Toriseva Law in Wheeling. The city was represented by Ryan Simonton, Erin Webb and Matthew Elshiaty of Kay Casto & Chaney.
Monongalia Circuit Court case numbers 22-C-214