Termination ‘appropriate’ for fired cop who got job back: legal review

A Joliet police officer who was fired in December 2019 only to get his job back last week was accused of falsifying a crash report and lying about an on-duty injury, according to a review conducted by a law firm hired by the city.

Kelly A. Coyle of the Rosemont law firm Clark Baird Smith said firing Officer David Blackmore was an “appropriate penalty” for his “alleged misconduct,” according to a November 2019 communication obtained by The Herald-News.

In her message to now retired Deputy Chief Darrell Gavin, Coyle said the city of Joliet asked her firm to review Blackmore’s case, and after doing so, determined “the City has a reasonable chance of terminating Officer Blackmore’s employment.”

Blackmore was recommended for termination on Dec. 27, 2019, by now retired Police Chief Al Roechner but city officials would not say why.

Coyle outlined the reasons Roechner fired Blackmore.

In November 2018, Coyle said, Lt. Marc Reid “filed a complaint stating that Officer Blackmore engaged in misconduct by submitting a false vehicle accident report, and lying about an on-duty injury.”

On top of that, Blackmore lied in a police report and tried committing a crime, Coyle said, as he “attempted to fraudulently (and unlawfully) gain workers’ compensation benefits.”

Blackmore faces no criminal charges in connection with the case.

Coyle said the city’s case against Blackmore should have held up in arbitration, “presuming the witnesses testify consistently with their investigation statements,” including those from an “’expert’ witness familiar with car mechanics” named Brian Grooms.

Grooms “credibly stated during the investigation that it was physically impossible for the accident to have occurred according to Officer Blackmore’s description,” Coyle said. “Further, statements of other witnesses regarding the physical evidence at the accident scene support Grooms’ opinion that the accident could not have occurred as alleged.”

City Attorney Sabrina Spano, City Manager Jim Capparelli, Police Chief Dawn Malec and police union attorney Tamara Cummings all failed to respond to calls for comment on Blackmore’s case.

Previously, officials said Blackmore’s termination had been rescinded but he would serve a 90-day suspension without pay.

Capparelli previously explained he decided to reduce the discipline after negotiations that included the police union and the city legal staff.

Blackmore’s case was the third in the last six months in which the city manager’s office has significantly reduced discipline for an officer, including that of now retired Officer Joe Clement, who is running for city council.