HomeMy WebLinkAbout810546.tiff ' •
A. _ M .:S
;'1OE.J I( .tiS, Ii(Al-Ie;i'.FNS AND DANIEL_
• lC•o, .::i.7 ii AVENUE
Lrt�f:I.F.v,i:OLOR.V4 r3Cci31
September 23 , 1981
t• A. µ^L.7.'H0_h S,
Thomas O. David
County Attorney
400,
315 10th Si:? y et
('renl.ey, Colorado 80631
E Lewis N. Tydings, Jr. v;;. i;".eri.i.i !T. , 0117.
Acting Undersheriff Ricky G. Di] 1. , -.'rid ( 1!e Crj;'._)i.y
of Weld, Colorado -
Dear Mr. . David:
This letter is directed to you in compliance with C .T .S . 1913,
24--10--1.09, as amended.
Isis firm represents Lewis N. Tydings, Jr. who claims to have
:.offered an injury by a 1e_hl_i.c entity or by an employee thereof
while in the course of eech F'mp].opuent.
The name and address of the claimant are: Lewis N. Tydings, Jr. ,
1311 29th Street, Greeley, Colorado 80631.
His attorneys are: Houtchens, Houtcheens and Daniel, Jerry C.
Daniel, Esq. , 1007 Ninth Avenue, Greeley, Colorado 80631.
The basis of the claims of Lewis N. Tydings, Jr. include:
1. Sheriff Andrews made the statement in front of severalindi-
viduals at 11: 30 A.M. at the Sheriff' s Office, Greeley, Colorado, on
July 21, 1981, that Captain Tydings "was no longer effective in the
department" . This statement and his actions as below further
outlined constitute slander.
2 . Sheriff Andrews and Undersheriff Dill , over the period of raid--
July and into September, 1981, have taken disciplinary actions ,
including termination, with respect to Mr. Tydings which we,-e
contrary to the internal policies of the Sheriff' s Dep
the
artment and
d�'ld
the policies of the Weld County Government as set forth
Coenty Policy Manual" . Mr. Tydings' civil rights have been violated
and he has been embarrassed and humiliated by the methods and pro-
cedures in which he has been disciplined and terminated. Sheriff
Harold L. Andrews in conjunction with the Undersheriff Ricky G.
Dill , totally failed to follow personnel procedures regarding County
employees and the County knew or should have known the actions of
810546
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September 23, 1981 -
Page 2
'the Sheriff and his Undersheriff and their ramifications as such
affected Mr. Tydings. After Mr. Tydings was wrongfully terminated,
Sheriff Andrews refused to, in good faith, reinstate him according
to the decision of the Grievance Board, and the decision of the
Board of County Commissioners. The County, through its Assistant
County Attorney, R. Russell Anson, and by letter dated September 17 ,
1981, insisted that Mr. Tydings again present himself to Sheriff
Harold Andrews for reinstatement, even though the County knew or
should have known that this would be a futile, embarrassing, and
humiliating experience to Mr. Tydings aiid that the Sheriff would not
in good faith reinstate him. The Sheriff ' s plan was that he was
going to terminate Mr. Tydings again and go through different
procedures to accomplish this result. Subsequent to the Grievance
Board and Board of County Commissioners ordering the reinstatement
of Lewis N. Tydings, Jr. , he, Mr. Tydings, was informed by Sheriff
Andrews that he would be placed on administrative leave and would be
subjected to another hearing. Although the attorney for Mr. Tydings
was advised that copies of specific charges would be. given to him
and Mr. Tydings, the copies of the specific charges were not, in
fact, given to him. None were placed in the personnel file of
Mr. Tydings. A pre-emptory hearing was scheduled so quickly that
rebuttal or a fair heating would have been impossible. Since the
Sheriff had already had occasion to furnish charges and in fact, in
his position statement as furnished to the Grievance Board and made
part of the record before the Grievance Board, stated regarding
Captain Tydings "He was fully informed of the charge directed toward
him . . . " , the merits and procedures were resolved and another
hearing or the bringing of additional charges was not proper. The
career of Lewis N. Tydings, Jr. , a professional 'police officer, has
been seriously damaged and probably ruined. This is true both in
the Szeriff' s Department of Weld County, as well as any other law
enforcement position that he might have attempted to obtain.
Monetary damages being requested are $3 million.
Yours truly,
Jerry C. Daniel
3CD:dm
xc: Attorney General
State of Colorado
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