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R. Ben Bifoss, city manager for Traverse City, sent the following e-mail to city commissioners the morning of May 26, less than 24 hours after city police Officer Joseph Soffredine pleaded guilty to impaired driving:
Good Morning
I understand that Commissioners are receiving many comments about how we handled the incident with Police Officer Joe Soffredine. Attached is the statement issued by Police Chief Warren.
I am completely sympathetic to the public's desire that police officers not receive preferential treatment and agree that the "blue wall" must be torn down. It is however necessary to understand the facts as they relate to a public employer specifically regarding off duty conduct.
Under existing labor law public employees are considered to have a "right" to their job analogous to a property right. Just as it would be necessary to demonstrate a legitimate public purpose to condemn private property, we need to be able to demonstrate a legitimate public purpose to discipline a public employee.
It is very difficult to establish a nexus between a public purpose and an employee's off duty conduct. What an employee does on their own time is generally outside the purview of the employer.
There are occasions where off duty behavior is so egregious that employer imposed discipline is appropriate. That is the case with Officer Soffredine. His conduct has impugned the reputation of the entire department and it will require much time and effort to undo the damage.
However the conduct on the evening of February 6 must be balanced with the overall conduct of the employee. The overall conduct of Officer Soffredine has been good. In addition to the leadership of the Police Department, I have reviewed this with the City Attorney. On balance, a 30 days suspension without pay with additional sanctions for off duty conduct is considered reasonable.
I completely understand that some members of the public believe that Office Soffredine should be terminated. However we can not administer our personnel system based on the intensity of media coverage.
I would be happy to discuss this in detail with you if you wish further details.
Ben
