Ex-sheriff's captain sues to get reinstated

A 20-year Lee County Sheriff's Office veteran fired in February on charges he lied during an internal affairs investigation has filed a federal lawsuit in an attempt to get his job back.

Les Partington, who earned $85,200 as a watch captain, also is seeking back pay, the value of lost fringe benefits, compensatory damages, and lost future earnings if he is unable to return to his job, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers.

"They said they fired me for lying, but that's a lie," Partington said Monday. "I'm not going to just go away after 20 years. I want my name back. I've never been called a liar, ever, until these people took over and did this to me. ... We'll go to federal court and look for justice."

Deputy Angelo Vaughn, a sheriff's public information officer, declined comment, saying agency policy bars them from speaking about ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit comes eight weeks after a ruling by the Lee County Sheriff's Office Civil Service Board, which heard 6½ hours of testimony and unanimously determined that Sheriff Mike Scott had just cause to fire Partington.

In March, the state Unemployment Compensation Program ruled in Partington's favor, finding he hadn't been fired for misconduct while on the job. The Sheriff's Office appealed, but lost and Partington was awarded unemployment benefits retroactive to his Feb. 21 firing. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also reviewed his case and allowed him to remain certified.

Partington's lawyer, Robert F. McKee of Tampa, who specializes in employment law, was out of town and could not be reached for comment. Partington, who is searching for another law enforcement job, had an "exemplary record," according to a note in his file written by a superior.

Roughly 90 pages of internal affairs records show Partington was questioned in November as part of an investigation into comments by Capt. Gary Kamp, who was later cleared of making racially offensive remarks to Cpl. Daryl Holton.

Records show Holton told investigators he sought Partington's advice shortly before an article appeared in The (Fort Myers) News-Press on Oct. 15 about an internal affairs investigation into Kamp cautioning about 40 deputies not to get into trouble, saying: "You'll end up in a cell next to Daryl's bigger brother."

The sheriff determined the remark was inappropriate, but involved size — Holton is 6 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed 300 pounds — not race. Partington, who urged Holton not to make race an issue, told investigators he advised Holton to confront Kamp and if unsatisfied, go up the chain of command.

During the May 2 civil service hearing, testimony showed higher-ups suspected Partington of leaking the story, but his lawyer, John Coleman of Fort Myers, pointed out that Bonita Daily News Bureau Chief Karie Partington — Les Partington's wife — wouldn't leak a story to a competing newspaper. It also was suggested that Partington was fired because he backed Sheriff Rod Shoap, who was defeated by Scott, but that wasn't brought up at the hearing.

Barry Hillmyer, legal director of the Sheriff's Office, maintained at the hearing that it all boils down to Partington not being truthful to commanding officers when questioned repeatedly about conversations with Holton.

The lawsuit focuses on two conversations Partington had with Holton, on the job and while both were off duty, when Partington phoned Holton, who said he'd spoken with a reporter and an article would be printed the next day. The lawsuit says Partington cautioned Holton to allow the sheriff's administration to address his concerns.

The lawsuit says the conversations that prompted his firing were a matter of public concern, possible workplace race discrimination, so that speech was protected under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment and the Florida Constitution.

The lawsuit says the firing caused Partington to suffer embarrassment, mental anguish, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment. Partington, who has been in law enforcement his entire career, said he spent $11,000 for the civil service hearing and probably will spend his life savings to clear his name.