King County Superior Court Judge Patrick Oishi ordered Pacific Mayor Cy Sun to return two suspended police officers to duty on Friday.
In a courtroom at the Kent Regional Justice Center, Oishi ruled in favor of a request for a Writ of Mandate filed by the Pacific Civil Service Commission, ordering Sun to fully reinstate Chief John Calkins and Lt. Edwin Massey and provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs.
“Right now I’m overwhelmed, absolutely overwhelmed,” Massey said. “It’s been hard on me and it’s been hard on my family. We’ll see how the next few days go, but I’m very happy with what happened in court today.”
Massey and Calkins were placed on paid administrative leave by Sun on March 22, pending the outcome of an investigation into claims of intimidation and harassment with another city employee.
On April 4 the city’s Civil Service Commission ruled in favor of appeals by Massey and Calkins and ordered them returned to duty.
Sun, however, refused to comply with the commission’s order and continued to deny Massey and Calkins access to their badges, guns, computers and keys.
The Civil Service Commission filed suit with the King County Superior Court asking that a Writ of Mandate be issued to force Sun to return the officer’s to full duty.
At the hearing on Friday, Sun’s attorney Tyler Firkins, argued that the officers were not suspended for disciplinary reasons, merely placed on leave for their safety and the safety of the other city employee being investigated in the harassment and intimidation matter.
Judge Oishi disagreed, ordering Sun to immediately restore Massey and Calkins to duty.
“My reaction is that Mayor Sun is going to comply with the judge’s ruling and we’re going to file and appeal in the appropriate amount of time,” Firkins said. “We’re going to let the court of appeals issue a ruling on this.”
According to Firkins, Sun was going to send an e-mail to city employees ordering Calkins and Massey’s tools, keys and access to the city computer system be restored immediately.
A press release issued by the Pacific Police Department on Friday, confirmed that Massey and Calkins’ property was returned and they were back on duty.
