Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Former police officer sues Bosque Farms

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Bosque Farms A former Bosque Farms police officer has filed a civil lawsuit against the village, the chief and a fellow officer for what he claims was retaliation against him for speaking out about a coworker.

Craig Meo II, who had worked for the Bosque Farms Police Department and was a member of the regional SWAT team, filed a complaint for damages in district court. The Village of Bosque Farms, Police Chief Joe Stidham and officer Andrew Owen are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Mark Jarmie, the village attorney, couldn't be reached for comment regarding the lawsuit. Mayor Wayne Ake said the village doesn't comment on pending litigation. The village has not yet filed an answer to Meo's complaint.

According to the complaint, Meo says that he voiced his concerns to Stidham about the competence and actions of an officer, who Meo "believed had engaged, and was likely to continue to engage, in conduct that created serious risks to the public safety and of possible deprivations of constitutional rights."

Meo says in the lawsuit that his concerns were ignored and that the same day he spoke to Stidham, he was dismissed from the SWAT team for allegedly engaging "in conversations with others where you have trash talked your department and supervisors."

The former officer alleges that the defendants retaliated against him by confiscating his necessary police safety equipment and making his working conditions so intolerable that he resigned his position.

Meo contends that he has suffered substantial damages, including financial loss, "severe and extreme emotional distress," and loss of past and future wages. He's asked the court to award him punitive damages.

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