A.
No person appointed to a position in the Police Department pursuant
to these rules and regulations may be suspended without pay or removed
and no person promoted in rank pursuant to these rules and regulations
may be reduced in rank except for the following reasons:
(1)
Physical or mental disability affecting the officer's ability
to continue in service, in which case the officer shall receive an
honorable discharge from service;
(2)
Neglect or violation of an official duty;
(3)
A violation of any law which provides that such violation constitutes
a misdemeanor or felony;
(4)
Inefficiency, neglect, intemperance, immorality, disobedience of
orders or conduct unbecoming an officer;
(5)
Intoxication while on duty;
(6)
Engaging or participating in or conducting any political or election
campaign while on duty or in uniform or while using Borough property,
otherwise than to exercise the person's own right of suffrage;
or
B.
No officer shall be removed for religious, racial or political reasons.
C.
A written statement of any charges made against any officer so employed shall be furnished to the officer within five days after those charges have been adopted by the municipal governing body. The person so employed shall have 10 days from the date of receiving the notice in which to submit a written request for a hearing to the Civil Service Commission under § 7-57.
If, for reasons of economy or other reasons, it shall be deemed
necessary by the municipal governing body to reduce the number of
full-time police officers in the Department, then the municipal governing
body shall furlough the person or persons, including probationers,
last appointed to the force. Such removal shall be accomplished by
furloughing in numerical order commencing with the person last appointed
until such reduction shall have been accomplished. In the event the
said police force shall again be increased, the employees furloughed
shall be reinstated in the order of their seniority in the service.
The provisions of this section as to reduction in force are not applicable
to Chief of Police.
A.
Whenever a police officer is suspended, removed or reduced in rank, the specific charges warranting such action shall be stated in writing by the municipal governing body. The charges shall be stated clearly and in sufficient detail to enable the officer to understand the charges and to allow the officer an opportunity to respond to those charges. The charges shall specify the subsection of § 7-54 which provides the basis for the disciplinary action as well as an explanation of the factual circumstances upon which the municipal governing body relied in finding a violation of § 7-54.
B.
Within five days after the municipal governing body has voted to impose the disciplinary action, a written statement of the charges shall be delivered to the officer either by personal service or by certified and registered mail. In addition, the charges shall notify the officer of the right to appeal under § 7-57 of these rules and regulations. A copy of the statement of charges shall also be served upon the members of the Commission.
A.
The officer who has been suspended, removed or reduced in rank may
appeal the decision of the municipal governing body by written notice
to the Secretary at 7 South Broad Street, Lititz, Pennsylvania, 17543,
requesting a hearing. This request shall be received by the Commission
within 10 days after the officer received notice of the discipline.
The officer may make written answers to any charges filed not later
than the date fixed for the hearing. Failure of the officer to provide
written answers to any of the charges shall not be deemed an admission
by the officer.
B.
The Commission shall grant the officer a hearing within 10 days from
the officer's written request for a hearing, unless continued
by the Commission for cause at the request of the Commission, the
municipal governing body or the officer. Notwithstanding this provision,
the failure of the Commission to hold a hearing within 10 days from
the filing of the charges in writing shall not result in the dismissal
of the charges filed. The Council may suspend the person, without
pay, pending the determination of the charges against the person;
but in the event the Commission fails to uphold the charges, then
the person sought to be suspended, removed or reduced in rank shall
be reinstated with full pay for the period during which the person
was suspended, removed or reduced in rank, and the charges shall be
sealed and not be available for public inspection in the event the
charges are dismissed. At any such hearing, the officer against whom
the charges have been made may be present and represented by counsel,
may call witnesses and may present testimony and documentation in
defense. The municipal governing body may also be represented by counsel,
call witnesses and present evidence as is necessary to support the
charges. A stenographic record of all testimony shall be taken at
every hearing and preserved by the Commission. In the event the charges
are dismissed, the record shall be sealed and not be available for
public inspection. Notice of the date, time and place for each hearing
shall be given in the following manner:
(1)
Either by personal service or certified or registered mail to each
of the principals involved in the case; and
(2)
By regular, first-class mail to all other persons who have stated
an interest in the hearing; provided, however, that any failure to
give the notice required by this subsection shall not invalidate any
subsequent action taken by the Commission.
C.
In conducting the hearing, the Commission's standard of review
shall be to determine whether sufficient evidence has been presented
to support the statutory reason for the disciplinary action. If the
Commission finds that sufficient evidence has been introduced to support
the charge, the Commission shall not modify the penalty imposed by
the municipal governing body unless it finds that the penalty imposed
was arbitrary, discriminatory or an abuse of the municipal governing
body's discretion. In considering the appropriateness of the
discipline, the Commission shall not substitute its judgment for that
of the municipal governing body. The Commission may request post-hearing
briefs and shall issue a written decision containing specific findings
of fact and conclusions of law within 60 days of receipt of the hearing
transcript.
D.
Unless the municipal governing body or the person sought to be suspended, removed, or reduced in rank requests that the proceedings before the Commission be open to the public, the proceedings before the Commission pursuant to this section shall be held in the nature of a closed executive session that shall not be open to the public. Any such request shall be presented to the Commission before the civil service hearing commences. The deliberations of the Commission, including interim rulings on evidentiary or procedural issues, may be held in private and shall not be subject to request for being open to the public, the municipal governing body or to the person sought to be suspended, removed, or reduced in rank. The Commission's disposition of the disciplinary action shall constitute official action which shall occur at a public meeting held pursuant to 65 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 7 (relating to open meetings). All parties concerned shall have immediate right of appeal to the court of common pleas of the county, and the case shall there be determined as the court deems proper. No order of suspension made by the Commission shall be for a longer period than one year. The appeal shall be taken within 30 days from the date of entry by the Commission of its final order and shall be by petition.
A.
All testimony shall be given under oath administered by the Chairperson, or in the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson of the Commission. The Commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas as set forth in § 7-14 hereof. The hearing shall be open to the public unless, prior to the commencement of the hearing, a written or oral request to close the hearing is made by either the charged officer or the municipal governing body.
B.
Each hearing shall be conducted in substantially the same format
as follows:
(1)
The Chairman shall state the general purpose of the hearing;
(2)
Upon direction from the Chairman, the Secretary shall read the written
charges against the accused, together with the record of action taken
against such police officer;
(3)
The Secretary shall read any written reply of the accused;
(4)
The Chairman shall afford each person making charges, or that person's
counsel, an opportunity to make further statements in support of the
charges and to produce witnesses;
(5)
The Chairman shall afford the accused, or the accused's counsel,
an opportunity to question or cross-examine the person making charges
and to question or cross-examine any witnesses produced by such person;
(6)
The Chairman shall afford each person making charges an opportunity
to examine the person accused;
(7)
The Chairman shall permit each person making charges, or their counsel,
to make a summation;
(8)
The Chairman shall permit the person accused, or the accused's
counsel, an opportunity to produce any witnesses, who may be cross-examined
by the person making the charges or such person's counsel;
(9)
The Chairman shall permit the person accused or the accused's
counsel to make summation; and
(10)
The Commission, at any time during the course of the hearing, may
question or cross-examine the person making charges, the accused or
any witness.
C.
If the Commission sustains the charges, the officer who was suspended,
removed or reduced in rank may file an appeal with the Court of Common
Pleas within 60 days of the date of entry by the Commission of its
final order. No order of suspension shall be made by the Commission
for a period longer than one year. In the event that the Commission
fails to uphold the charges, then the person sought to be suspended,
removed or demoted shall be reinstated with full pay for the period
of suspension, removal or demotion, and no charges related to the
suspension, removal or reduction in rank shall be officially recorded
in the officer's record.
