Fired FWPD officer sues to get his job back with full back pay
- Jamie Duffy
- 24 hours ago
- 2 min read
FORT WAYNE, Ind. ---An officer fired in June from the Fort Wayne Police Department for theft and improper conduct has filed a lawsuit in Allen Superior Court, hoping to force the city to reinstate him.
Zac Chapman, a lateral transfer from Noble County who served 10 years on the department, is asking Judge Jason Custer of the Allen Superior Civil division to reverse the decision of the city’s Board of Safety.
According to the civil filing dated July 29, Chapman wants his job back and “full back pay,” the document states.
In legal findings obtained earlier by The Probable Cause, Blair Hess, described as an elderly man with mental issues, repeatedly told Chapman he wanted the guns destroyed so his neighbors would leave him alone.
All of Chapman’s interactions with Hess were recorded on the officer’s body camera except for one. Chapman claimed that specific time Hess told him he could take the guns, court documents said.
When Chapman checked with a supervisor, Chapman was told he had to document this and had to pay something for the guns that were found to be worth $4,500.
Chapman slipped Hess a $20, court documents said.
The matter came to FWPD’s attention when Hess’s son complained to an Indiana State Police trooper and an investigation took place.
Original story here:
Chapman was officially terminated June 22 at a Fort Wayne Board of Safety hearing by a unanimous vote.
But Chapman says through his attorney, Edward J. Merchant, based in Fishers, that the board’s decision was “arbitrary, capricious and not supported by substantial, credible evidence” and that the decision was made “in violation of statutory, legal and constitutional principles.”
The city declined to comment on the case.
An initial hearing in front of Custer is scheduled for Sept. 30.
Comments