LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 12-member jury delivered a verdict Friday afternoon against officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department's SWAT team who were seeking millions of dollars of back pay for "on-call" time dating back to 2002.
The verdict came down in Jefferson Circuit Court after about four hours of deliberations. It means the officers will not be awarded any of the millions of dollars they sought in the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2016, the officers claimed to have missed family functions, couldn't get off-duty jobs and more because of the on-call rules. Officers would be on-call for two weeks at a time during which they could not drink and needed to be able to respond to a location within 45 minutes. The officers would not collect pay until they answered the call.
City’s statement following the jury’s decision… pic.twitter.com/9LoLdmc1cg
— Dalton Godbey (@DaltonTVNews) July 29, 2022
The trial featured testimony from LMPD Chief Erika Shields, who earlier this week argued the SWAT officers have always been fairly compensated for their work — once they're called a scene.
"I’m sorry, but when you are waiting on a phone to ring, that is not work," she testified. "I’ve never talked to a chief where they pay officers for being on call."
SWAT is the elite team for LMPD that deals with situations involving hostages, barricaded suspects and serving dangerous warrants. Each member is highly trained. And back in 2016, the team went full-time, meaning those officers assigned to the SWAT team only work doing that. The officers claim to have missed family functions, couldn't get off-duty jobs and more because of the on-call rules.
During closing arguments Friday, attorney Suzanne Michael, representing the city, told jurors that on-call compensation was already outlined in the collective bargaining agreement between LMPD and the officers' union. She also said that no other police agencies of LMPD's size are paying on-call SWAT members around-the-clock.
NOW: Closing arguments happening in a jury trial over a 2016 lawsuit claiming @LMPD SWAT members should have been paid for ‘on-call’ time dating back to 2002. Background ⬇️ https://t.co/Y9g5byJGep
— Dalton Godbey (@DaltonTVNews) July 29, 2022
But Ann Oldfather, the attorney who represented the SWAT officers, reminded the jury of the commitment of the SWAT team to public safety.
"Metro has been able to balance their limited resources ... on the backs on these committed officers who won't say no," she said.
Oldfather acknowledged the collective bargaining agreement in place between LMPD and the officers' union but pointed out that the FOP was bargaining for officers in general, not SWAT officers in particular.
Additionally, she referenced LMPD's Standard Operating Procedures, which state that the activities of on-call SWAT officers "shall not be restricted," yet they are required to respond to a call-out within 45 minutes.
Oldfather said that last requirement was itself restrictive.
Countering Michael's claim that no other agency of comparable size to LMPD pays its SWAT officers for downtime, Oldfather argued that other agencies have many more officers, so the amount of on-call time is much less.
Jefferson Circuit Judge Audra Eckerle gave the 12-member jury instructions and they began deliberating Friday afternoon.
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- Trial begins in Louisville as SWAT officers claim city owes them millions in back pay
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