Ex-school security officer sues, says he was fired in retaliation

A former Sandpoint High security officer has filed a lawsuit against the Lake Pend Oreille School District and Principal Jim Soper, alleging his position was eliminated because he “pointed out that the School District was ignoring safety and substance abuse problems at Sandpoint High School.”

Robert B. Posey believes the district violated his First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and Idaho’s whistleblower law, according to a press release from the Idaho Education Association.

Posey, who worked for the district from 1995 through last summer, is seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and benefits, pain and suffering, emotional distress and alleged damage to his reputation. He is also asking that his job be reinstated and the district cover his legal expenses.

Superintendent Mark Berryhill said he couldn’t comment on personnel issues.

But, said Berryhill, “it’s important to realize there’s another side to the issue that’s well-researched and well-investigated and well-documented as far as legal aspects are concerned.”

The district hadn’t been served with the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon.

According to the suit, Posey told Soper in late 2002 of his concerns about the adequacy of the school’s emergency plan and about “numerous incidents” of weapons on school property and fighting in the hallways.

Posey alleges that Soper told him not to contact the police about the incidents. According to the lawsuit, Posey also approached Soper about faculty and students’ safety concerns. Posey said Soper asked for the names of those faculty and students and said he “would have their ass.”

The lawsuit says that Posey felt threatened by Soper’s statement and began to work more closely with the school’s dean of students. Soper could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

In late 2003, according to the lawsuit, Posey took his concerns to the district level. He said he was told by district administrators he wouldn’t be fired for speaking up.

The lawsuit alleges that the district told Posey in June 2004 that his position was being eliminated and he could apply for a new position that was being created. Posey was the second choice for the position and filed a grievance with the school district.

According to the lawsuit, the matter went before an arbitration panel in October 2004 which allegedly decided 2-1 that the district had retaliated against Posey and that his position should be reinstated. The panel’s findings were overturned by the school board in January 2005, the lawsuit alleged.

Berryhill said he couldn’t comment on that outcome of the arbitration because it was a personnel matter.

A 1999 article in The Spokesman-Review said Posey was formerly a police officer in Downey, Calif., and injured on the job during a high-speed car chase in 1990. Downey told the newspaper that he received a settlement from the state that helped him pay for a dog and train that dog to sniff drugs.

Jager, a Belgian Malinois, and Posey patrolled Sandpoint High together, searching for drugs in lockers, backpacks and cars.