FRYEBURG — A police officer fired earlier this year for inappropriate text messaging
, speeding and issuing false
summonses, among other things, is seeking reimbursement for wages that were not paid while he was on administrative leave.

Ian Tait, who was an officer with the Fryeburg Police Department from January 2004 until his termination was upheld by the Board of Selectmen on April 24, has filed a civil suit charging the town with failure to pay wages and failure to provide health insurance.

Sarah Glynn, Tait's attorney, said his pay was wrongfully withheld when he was placed on unpaid leave on Sept. 30, 2008. Tait appealed the pay issue to Town Manager Martin Krauter and Tait's salary was reinstated around Oct. 17. Glynn says the pay was again stopped on Jan. 5 and Tait had to pay $1,189.80 in out-of-pocket medical expenses while he was not on the town payroll.

Glynn says Tait's salary was improperly withheld between Sept. 30 and Oct. 16, 2008, and between Jan. 9 and March 31, 2009. She says the department's personnel policy does not allow payment to be withheld, and that the town is liable for the health insurance costs during those periods. She also says the town must pay double the amount of wages that would have been allocated to Tait during that time.

Town attorney Mark Franco has denied all charges in the lawsuit. He lists 23 affirmative defenses, including Tait's failure to object to not being paid in the lead-up to his termination and admissions of breach of conduct.

Chief Philip Weymouth fired Tait after determining that he had engaged in misconduct including accepting a gratuity, inappropriate text messaging and interaction with other employees, speeding and issuing false summonses. Weymouth determined that Tait had violated the police department's standard operating procedure and the town's ethics and personnel rules.

Tait appealed the decision to Oxford County Superior Court after selectmen voted 2-1 in April to uphold Weymouth's decision. His appeal charged a lack of due process under the municipal procedures and state and federal constitutions, as well as a failure to provide an impartial hearing and violation of the Freedom of Information Act.

Glynn said in the appeal that Weymouth restated testimony from town employees during a hearing before selectmen, and that the employees were unavailable for cross-examination. She also said other officers "engaged in the same or similar conduct, and were not disciplined and remain employed by the town of Fryeburg."

In court documents, Tait admitted to making mistakes but said he did not believe his conduct justified dismissal. He said he accepted $25 to help a funeral home remove a body from a death scene, but later returned the money. He said the text messages were sent to other officers as a joke during testing of new cell phones, and that he occasionally wrote tickets to fictional characters during down time.

In one case, Tait said a brief report meant as a joke was mistakenly sent to the Fire Marshal's Office in relation to a 2005 incident in which the Fryeburg Academy gymnasium was destroyed by arson. The report took the testimony of "Kleenup Kitty," which Tait said was a reference to a running joke between the police and fire departments.

Tait said he was asked by the selectmen to investigate whether town funds and supplies were being used to support a security and firearms business started by former police chief Wayne Brooking and two police officers, but Tait stopped the investigation when asked to do so by a selectman.

According to court documents, other officers stated that the items for the security business were legally acquired and that Tait continued his investigation after being told to stop. Tait was also accused of undermining authority and having a poor attitude.

Justice Andrew Horton ruled in September that the appeal should be dismissed because it had not been filed within 30 days of the board's decision to uphold Tait's termination.

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com