A Tucson police bomb-squad officer has filed a lawsuit against the city, saying he was the subject of six years of workplace harassment by his supervisor after making comments to which the man took offense.
Charles Pickard, a 15-year veteran and hazardous-devices technician with the Tucson Police Department bomb squad, also says the department discriminated against him for a hand-tremor condition, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit says when Pickard was promoted to the bomb squad in 2008, his supervisor, Sgt. Ardan Devine, didnβt allow him the same opportunities for overtime that were afforded other squad members. When Pickard addressed the issues, Devine became hostile and continued to bar him from opportunities, the lawsuit states.
The situation intensified when Devine told another officer he was upset about an email Pickard sent about explosive training consistencies. Because the email is considered protected speech under the First Amendment, Devineβs retaliatory actions, including calling Pickard a βtraitor,β violated his rights, the lawsuit says.
Over the next several years, Devine openly made negative statements about the Pima County Regional Bomb Squad and its commander, resulting in members of TPDβs bomb squad refusing to attend joint training exercises. As part of his job as regional FBI bomb squad coordinator, Pickard was still required to attend the training, but was met with hostility from Devine when requesting permission to attend.
The situation finally came to a head during an internal-affairs interview about anonymous threatening texts sent to the Pima County bomb-squad commander, about whom Devine had been making the negative statements, the lawsuit says.
Pickard was told that a fellow TPD bomb squad officer, Scott Lonergan, admitted responsibility and told investigators that Devineβs negative comments about the commander βhad created a clear culture within the unit of hatred for the Pima Regional Team.β
After the investigation was completed, a lieutenant told Pickard that Devine read the internal affairs investigative report into the incident and became βabsolutely enraged,β the lawsuit says. As a result, the retaliatory actions and harassment continued to escalate.
Pickardβs schedule was changed without warning and he was denied leave for a teaching assignment for which Devine previously gave permission. On another occasion, Devine launched an investigation into Pickard after he declined to respond to an after-hours call because heβd been drinking beer off-duty.
In December 2012, Pickard met with then-Assistant Chief of Police Kathy Robinson after someone complained his slight hand tremor jeopardized his job performance. She told him she was aware of the hostility directed at him by Devine and urged him not to leave the department, adding Devine would soon retire .
Following the meeting, Pickard filed a complaint against Devine with the City Equal Employment Opportunity office, prompting a second meeting between Pickard, Devine and Robinson to diffuse the situation, the lawsuit says.
βDevine balked at mediation and became enraging, stating that Officer Pickard was a horrible employee and a liar and wanted him removed from the bomb squad,β according to the lawsuit.
At the end of the meeting, Robinson told Pickard the issue with his hand tremor had been examined by the police chiefs and the cityβs legal department, and wouldnβt be brought up again.
A week later, Pickard was transferred to the Homeland Security Section of the bomb squad, located at the Tucson Fire Departmentβs central headquarters.
During the 11 months that followed, he received no overtime opportunities and his name was removed from TPDβs bomb squad directory, even though he was told he was still on the team.
The situation came to a head in September 2013, when Pickard was assisting the FBI in teaching a course about explosives. Two students, who were also Tucson police bomb-squad members, saw Pickard spill a small amount of racing fuel while measuring it into a container. Pickard wasnβt questioned at the time, but when he returned to work, he was placed on medical restriction from handling explosives and chemicals until he was medically cleared by the city, the lawsuit says.
He was cleared by the cityβs physician, but the work restriction wasnβt lifted until he saw a neurologist, which he was forced to pay for on his own. He returned to work in January 2014 to Fire Central, and when Devine retired in March of that year, Pickard was transferred back to his regular position with the bomb squad.
The lawsuit, which doesnβt specify a dollar amount for damages, also says Pickard was wrongfully denied $13,200 in wages by not being allowed equal access to overtime opportunities.
Pickardβs attorney, Todd Hale, did not respond to the Starβs request comment.
Because the city of Tucson oversees the Police Department, it is named as the defendant in the lawsuit. City Attorney Mike Rankin has previously said heβs unable to comment on pending litigation.
