Appeals court upholds decision to reinstate former Gettysburg police officer
Mariana VelosoAn appeals court has upheld the decision that former Gettysburg Police Officer Michael Carricato must be reinstated.
This decision was made on June 5, and now the borough has three options, according to Gettysburg Borough Manager Charles Gable:
- Appeal the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- Rehire Carricato
- Offer him a settlement
The borough has a 30-day window to appeal to the state supreme court. If it does so, the court then chooses whether it will pick up the case.
Carricato told the Evening Sun he had no comment on the case at this time.
Irwin William Aronson, the lawyer who represented the police labor union in this case, said that he and his client were "not surprised and not displeased" with the court's unanimous decision.
Aronson said that the borough invested lots of taxpayer funds to appeal the arbitrator's original decision to reinstate Carricato and in doing so continually amassed back pay, benefits and pension funds that they must now provide to the former officer.
Carricato was originally fired from his position on Nov. 14, 2017.
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Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett's office began investigating the officer after it was contacted by former Gettysburg Police Chief Joseph Dougherty. He suspected that Carricato had recorded another officer, Brandi Courtesis, without her knowledge or consent, according to an affidavit filed with Magisterial District Judge Matthew Harvey's office.
Sinnett then sent a letter to Gettysburg Mayor Theodore Streeter about the investigation, which led to Carricato's termination. Sinnett advised that the letter not be shared with Carricato, according to the June 5 opinion filed by Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey.
On Nov. 20, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a police labor union, filed a grievance. It was denied by the borough and proceeded to arbitration, the opinion states.
The arbitrator sustained the grievance on May 9, 2019, following the hearing stating that the borough did not have just cause to fire Carricato. The arbitrator ordered Carricato be reinstated with respect to pay or benefits (minus interim earnings), the opinion states.
Aronson said the arbitrator concluded that because the borough did not provide a proper hearing for the officer to defend himself against any claims brought by the district attorney in that letter, they denied his right to due process and failed to meet their minimal obligations.
The borough appealed that decision, and that appeal was denied by the trial court. Then, the borough appealed that decision to the Commonwealth Court, which also denied the appeal, the opinion states.
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In a separate case, Carricato was charged with interception communications, a violation of Pennsylvania's Wiretap Act, and official oppression in November 2017, according to court documents.
Dougherty, the former police chief, provided the DA's office with a thumb drive containing a video and audio recording that came from a police department computer, the affidavit states.
Courtesis filed a lawsuit against Carricato, Dougherty, the Gettysburg Borough and supervisor Sgt. Larry Weikert for alleged gender discrimination in February 2018. In the lawsuit, she described a similar recording encounter with Carricato.
In June 2018, Courtesis received a settlement for $213,000, and she resigned from her position as part of the agreement.
That year, Carricato was accepted into Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a diversion program for first-time offenders.
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Mariana Veloso is the Quality of Life reporter for the USA Today Network - Pennsylvania. Veloso focuses primarily on the opioid epidemic in southcentral PA, along with coverage of everyday issues in the Hanover area. If you have a story idea, you can email her at msveloso@eveningsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @MariVeloso9 to stay up to date with her latest articles.