Federal court upholds $1.5-million verdict for fired police captain

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit today held its nose and upheld a 2002 jury verdict that the city of Boston pay the money to William Broderick, ousted as a captain in 2002 by then Commissioner Paul Evans.

The city and Evans had appealed the verdict, arguing it was way too high and should have been reduced by the judge in the case, that Broderick failed to prove his case and that Evans had some immunity based on a Supreme Court case that seemed to hold Broderick's public complaints about the police department were not protected under the First Amendment.

In its ruling, the court said Broderick had a "thin" case, but that "we cannot say that the jury was irrational in concluding that protected conduct played enough of a role in the mix to support a verdict." In the ruling, the court gave an example of its problem with Broderick:

Some of Broderick's activities may have been justified; others, less so, but either way he was clearly a difficult subordinate. He publicly accused Evans and the department of racism in one episode and of improper searches and seizures in another; he refused to cooperate in the investigation of overtime abuses that he had himself prompted; the Downtown Crossing incident
was disturbing; he refused to show up for hearings; he quarreled with other officers; and he brought multiple law suits against Evans and others.