A Georgetown police officer who was fired in March 2021 has lost his appeal to the Town Council.
While off-duty in 2019, Edgar Verde was charged with driving under the influence after refusing “all field and chemical tests.” That resulted in his driver’s license being suspended and his firing from the Georgetown Police Department.
He challenged that decision on multiple levels. At a March Town Council meeting, Verde’s lawyer said the state had dropped the DUI charge and his client’s license was to be reinstated. But a month later, the council unanimously upheld the firing.
When reached by phone, Verde deferred to his lawyers, who did not return phone calls by Friday afternoon.
Due to Delaware’s “implied consent” law, Verde’s July 20, 2019, refusal to test for DUI automatically resulted in his license being suspended for a year. He was issued a formal notice March 3, 2020.
All Georgetown employees whose jobs rely on driving a town-owned vehicle must have a license, according to the town code, and the town’s insurance representative said “Verde would likely be uninsurable for two to three years,” town documents state as the reason for the firing.
Town Manager Eugene Dvornick notified Verde on March 16, 2020, that he would be terminated effective March 29, 2020, according to town documents. He offered Verde a chance to meet prior to his termination, documents say, but Verde did not take that opportunity.
Verde appealed the Department of Motor Vehicle’s decision to revoke his license in the Court of Common Pleas. He forwarded Dvornick a letter from the court staying the revocation March 27, 2020, but according to town documents, he made no requests related to his employment or for a meeting, and the termination proceeded.
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The Delaware Fraternal Order of Police, Georgetown’s police union, filed a grievance related to Verde’s firing April 16, but the town dismissed it. The union then filed an unfair labor practice claim with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board, who ruled Oct. 14, 2021, the town must process the complaint.
The union filed another complaint with the town a few days later, claiming a Delaware Law Enforcement Bill of Rights violation and that Verde was owed salary and medical benefits.
Then-police chief R.L. Hughes dismissed the grievance as being “untimely filed,” since it was filed after Verde’s termination. In addition, perceived Law Enforcement Bill of Rights violations are not under the purview of the town, according to documents, and Verde was not owed salary or benefits past the date of his termination.
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Verde and the union then appealed to Dvornick at a Nov. 15, 2021, meeting. Dvornick dismissed the grievance, as well, so Verde again appealed, this time to the Town Council.
The state dropped Verde’s DUI case, union lawyer Michael Coviello told the council, and his license will be reinstated no later than June 25. In addition, Verde told the council that he requested a meeting with Hughes prior to his termination that was never held.
“Do you want to be right about this, or do you want to have justice? … Do we want to provide for the safety and security of this town with someone we know does the job well or do we want to be right?” Coviello asked the council. “If it’s about being right, what you get to ask yourselves is ‘Why?’ Why does a stellar employee get treated this way? Is it his presidency of the union and his willingness to fight for his fellow officers, or is it something else?”
The Town Council voted to confirm Verde’s firing April 11.
