AUBURN – A Superior Court judge has given new life to arguments about the disciplining of several police officers after Mayor Normand Guay’s arrest in August 2003.

Justice Ellen Gorman, in a Dec. 22 decision, denied the city’s attempt to stay arbitration. That opens the way for Auburn officers to take their grievances before a private arbitrator.

“This has just taken such a long time, and that’s one of our main grievances,” said Detective Chad Syphers, president of the Auburn police union. “The city has just dragged its feet over all of this.”

Arguments go back to August 2003, when police arrested Guay following a contentious City Council meeting. Guay and councilors squared off against police protesting the lack of a union contract.

Off-duty officers, protesting across the street from the Auburn City Building, saw Guay return to the city building briefly and then continue on his way home. They alerted on-duty officers that Guay appeared drunk, and officers pulled him over on his way home and took him into custody.

Although Guay passed a Breathalyzer test and was never charged, officers maintained they were correct in arresting him.

The city hired outside attorneys to review the arrest in August 2003. Those attorneys released an 80-page report in November 2003. The Police Department followed that with an investigation of its own, then disciplined nine officers. Most received letters of reprimand, but Syphers was demoted to patrol officer briefly.

Attorney Dan Felkel, representing the police union, said he is most concerned about the Police Department’s internal investigation. The union’s grievance argues that investigation began too late, after the 80-page report was finished.

“Therefore, any discipline based on that investigation should be voided,” Felkel said.

The city had asked Justice Gorman to prevent arbitrators from considering that grievance, saying arbitration hearings should be limited to questions of wages, hours or working conditions, based on the city’s labor contract. Gorman ruled there were no limits in the contract, however.

“So now all the matters will go to a private arbitrator,” said Felkel. An arbitration hearing has not been scheduled, although he expects hearings to begin in about two months.