News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Dismissed college officer gets her job back
Digg|
Save|
License|
Print|
E-mail|
For several days in April, Robert Everett Jr. trailed one of his police officers at Chandler-Gilbert Community College with video camera in hand.
View Tribune's Maricopa Community Colleges Investigation
His footage showed the officer, Maria Sutton, repeatedly arrived late and, once, abandoned the campus for more than an hour.
Everett, the college’s safety director, persuaded CGCC officials to fire Sutton.
The longtime campus police officer — Sutton has worked for the Maricopa County Community College District for 31 years — admitted to skipping work, but fought to keep her job.
Today, Sutton has her job back, and Everett has to explain his actions.
“I found an employee who was stealing from the district,” Everett said with exasperation during an interview last week.
The governing board voted 3-2 on Tuesday night to overturn its decision to fire Sutton in July.
Linda Rosenthal, the board president, said the college mishandled the firing.
Chancellor Rufus Glasper strongly opposed rehiring Sutton.
After serving a 45-day suspension without pay, Sutton is to return to the Chandler-Gilbert campus. Sutton expects to resume a healthy working relationship with Everett.
“I just wish the best on all of them,” she said Wednesday.
Everett’s investigative report on Sutton harshly criticized his most senior officer and accused her of gross misconduct.
Mark Mason, vice president of the college, testified at Sutton’s termination hearing that he and Maria Hesse, president of the Chandler-Gilbert college, decided to fire Sutton after Everett’s report.
When a government agency investigates a police officer it might fire, state law requires the agency to provide the officer written notice and allow a union representative to attend.
CGCC did neither.
Mason testified that college lawyers believe the district’s policy supersedes this state law.
Sutton alleges that the college’s top officials chose to investigate her because she helped other employees file discrimination complaints.
“It’s my opinion that he probably got caught in the moment of trying to do them a favor,” she said of Everett.
Mason denied the college targeted Sutton.
Cleopatra Martinez, the head of Phoenix College’s math department and a vocal Sutton supporter, said that Sutton’s transgressions did not warrant firing, at least not at the Maricopa colleges.
“Otherwise you’re going to have to start firing virtually all of us,” she said.
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: