Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-20
|kurrayC:aIIs
ForCourt Test
|InPo|iceFiriing
By MIRIAM GUTENBERG

Washington Police Chief Rob-
ert v. Murray today called a
Civil Service Commission deci-
sion ridiculous and absurd" and
demanded a court test of the
ruling forcing him to reinstate
la policeman fired for being
drunk.
The case involves Police Pvt.
Harold E. Jones. the central
figure in a precedent-shattering
Interpretation of the Veterans
Preference Act.
The Civil Service Commits
sion's Board of Appeals and Re-
view has now held that the FIR
ing of Pvt. Jones was "proce-
|durally defective" Pvt. Jones
was ordered restored to duty and
the reinstatement was made
retroactive to February %.
Giving him pay back to Feb
ruary % is a further outrage
against the taxpayers" Chief
Murray stormed.
Drunk Chalges Not Considered
The police chief pointed out
that two drunk charges on which
Pvt. zones forfeited collateral
after his original suspension
have not been considered by a
trial board.
He said he will ask the Cor.
poration Counsel to prepare
charges on these cases so an.
other trial board can consider
them.
He made 1t plain that he will
go down the line to fight the
restoration OF Pvt. Jones.
1T is a ridiculous and absurd
situation" he said. where We
cannot take disciplinary action
because of some vague and OBJ
scure section of the Veterans
Preference Act.
f.! I'm certain that the Veterans
Preference Act was not designed
or intended to be a shield for
bad conduct by members of the
Police Department"
/ Pvt. Jones, who had been fined
$500 In January on charges of
being under the influence OF
alcohol while of duty on sick
leave was suspended again on
March Q.
Charged With Malingering
At that time, he was charged
with malingering, failing to re-
port to the police surgeon at the
clinic while on sick leave, will
fully making untruthful state
ments to a police officer and be-
ing under the influence of alco-
hol while off duty.
He was supposed to go before
a trial board March II but on
the eve of the trial board meet
ing he entered District General
Hospital as a voluntary patient
The trial board met on March
III and postponed the case in
definitely because of his hos
Ipitalization. At noon that day
Inc was released from the hos
Ipital.
In the normal rotation of
trial board chairmen, Inspector
Charles B. Sullivan was the
chairman of the trial board be-
fore whom Pvt. Jones appeared
on March Is. That board found
him not guilty of malingering
but guilty of the other charges
The board recommended proba-
ton but this was rejected by
the Commissioners as an illegal
sentence.
On March %, Pvt. Jones was
arrested twice and charged each
time with being drunk. He was
released after posting $40 COL
lateral in each incident.
On March 26. the police trial
board reconsidering its earlier
sentence recommended his dis
Imissal. Inspector Sullivan wrote
Ia dissenting opinion. the first
IN the history Of police trial
boards.
Pvt. Jones filed an appeal with
the Commissioners. who agreed
to apply the Veterans Preference
Act to the case. That gave him
Ia months delay-another month
since in the midst of it he had
gone to District General Hospital
again.
Dismissed, Appeals
On June II the Commissioners