SACO — A former Saco police corporal and the Maine Association of Police are seeking a rehearing with an arbitrator, stating his termination from the department was not justified.
According to court documents, former police corporal Michael Mullen, a 10-year veteran with the department, was terminated on March 10.
Mullen was fired in relation to behavior at a police banquet and an improper relationship with a female dispatcher that included sending a sexually explicit photo of himself in uniform that he took while on duty.
The termination was upheld by an arbitrator, agreed to by the city and the union, said Police Chief Bradley Paul in an email.
“The city feels it acted appropriately to uphold the high standards required of its public safety employees,” Paul wrote.
In January, Mullen attended a police banquet at a private club in Portland, according to a report filed on Oct. 4 by arbitrator Allan Drachman. Paul and the department’s two deputy police chiefs did not attend.
The report states that Mullen, in a drunken state, initiated an altercation with his immediate supervisor, Sgt. Scott Sicard, over a misunderstanding and was forcibly removed from the banquet hall. Mullen returned to the party to talk again with Sicard, and when the discussion became confrontational, he was escorted out of the banquet hall again. After consulting with Sicard, Mullen decided not to self-report his misconduct, which is in violation of police department regulations, according to Drachman’s report.
The banquet incident was investigated by Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Holland.
In a separate incident, the police department hired attorney Gregg Frame to investigate a sexual harassment claim against Mullen from police dispatcher Beth Colomb.
Frame’s report dismissed the sexual harassment charge on the basis that Mullen’s actions had been invited by Colomb and were not unwelcome. However, Frame said that Mullen had maintained an improper relationship with the dispatcher, one that included sexually charged conversations and inappropriate physical conduct, and involved Mullen texting her a photo of himself in his uniform, with his genitals exposed, taken in the Saco Police Department bathroom.
Mullen also sent the photo to his wife, who shared it with another woman, according to the report. Frame reported that Mullen’s misconduct violated police department standard operating procedures, could negatively impact the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes and justified Mullen’s termination.
Drachman’s report said the union felt the appropriate penalty would be an unpaid suspension and a demotion to patrolman.
Through attorney William McKinley, Mullen and the union recently filed a response asking the court to return the case to the arbitrator and approve a penalty lesser than termination.
Mullen does not deny that he “consumed excess alcohol and behaved poorly” and that he failed to self-report that evening, according to court documents filed Dec. 13 by William McKinley, the attorney representing Mullen and the union.
However, McKinley stated that Mullen had been advised twice by a superior, Sgt. Sicard, not to self-report. He also noted that Frame’s investigation concluded that there was no unlawful sexual harassment by Mullen as the sending of pictures and other related behavior was mutual and not unwelcome.
Mullen attributed his poor judgment for taking and transmitting the photo to the influence of alcohol, and said he had gotten help and was currently sober, according to Drachman’s report. Mullen stated now that he is sober, he should be reinstated to his job.
According to Drachman’s report, Mullen blamed his belligerent conduct with mixing the prescription anxiety drug Xanax and alcohol. The union, in their argument, noted that Mullen and Sicard were off duty when the incident occurred, and Mullen was acting in defense and protection of his wife, according to Drachman’s report.
The union said that termination was too severe, as Mullen’s conduct was in response to similar conduct initiated by Colomb, and the termination fails to take into account more open attitudes young people have about sex and their bodies.
As well, the union argued that Mullen was unfairly scapegoated in being dismissed, while Colomb, who they described as a false accuser, was not disciplined. The union also asserted that the penalty does not consider that Mullen had no disciplinary actions against him before this, according to Drachman’s report.
The police department, in its argument, stated that even if Mullen acted on a foolish impulse when he took the picture, he made no effort to prevent his wife from sharing the picture, and when Colomb told him she still had his photo on her phone, he never asked her to delete it, according to Drachman’s report.
The police department also argued that even if Mullen has stopped drinking, it doesn’t excuse his past misconduct. It also said Mullen’s untrue claim that Sicard had ordered him not to report the misconduct at the hearing and statements that Colomb initiated sexually charged behavior are examples of blame shifting. The department said Mullen does not take responsibility for his actions, according to Drachman’s report.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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