State troopers' union files lawsuit alleging retaliation

HARRISBURG - A federal lawsuit accuses high-ranking current and former commanders of the Pennsylvania State Police of retaliating against leaders of the troopers' union who were responsible for handling labor grievances.

The 53-page lawsuit by the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and six of its officials, filed yesterday in Harrisburg, claims the defendants have "engaged in a deliberate, premeditated, and illegal course of conduct to retaliate" against union leadership.

Named as defendants were Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski, Deputy Commissioner John R. Brown, and former Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller.

The suit says that Miller, now a security official with the National Football League, encouraged employees to retaliate against the union and punished those "who followed the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" in dealings with the union. It claims Pawlowski and Brown have acted similarly.

"Defendants Pawlowski and Brown have engaged in a particularized pattern of misconduct to protect members of the command staff 'inner circle' through a refusal to investigate allegations of misconduct brought forward by the PSTA, and to retaliate against PSTA officials who advocate for members of the Pennsylvania State Police by petitioning the government and engaging in expressive association," the lawsuit states.

The state police issued a statement, saying the agency had not been served with the lawsuit and intended to respond to the allegations through the court system.

"However, the state police categorically denies engaging in any illegal actions against union members based on their union membership or union activities," the statement said.

The union said the supervisors' actions had interfered with the union's ability to represent its members, including the process by which it handles about 200 grievances annually.

The suit claims supervisors retaliated against a trooper because he complained that another supervisor improperly had underlings perform personal errands. It also raised questions about how the internal-affairs unit handled a complaint over an e-mail on union topics.

Union lawyer Sean T. Welby did not return a phone message, and union spokesman Dave La Torre declined comment.