PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A federal judge has ruled that a Rhode Island state police lieutenant’s claims that his superiors pressured him to falsify a report will go to trial.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. ruled that a jury will decide whether Lt. Michael Casey’s claims are a violation of the Rhode Island Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, the Providence Journal reported.
Casey sued senior officers in June, accusing them of trying to coerce him into recommending Garrett Demers, the son of retired Capt. James Demers, as a recruit.
Casey said Lt. Col. Joseph Philbin ordered him to rewrite his background report to omit references to the more than two dozen prior interactions Demers had with police in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including a disorderly conduct arrest in 2013.
Casey said when he refused to alter the application, he was assigned to night shifts, had his vehicle and weapon removed, and was threatened with discipline and ostracized.
Philbin previously told the Journal the “allegations are false and completely meritless.”
Casey also named Col. James Manni in the suit because he is the State Police superintendent. Manni hasn’t been accused of coercion.
McConnell ordered that discovery be completed by Oct. 1.
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