PITTSFIELD, Mass. — City officials deny any wrongdoing in Police Department hiring practices and vow to "vigorously" defend themselves against a lawsuit filed in federal court.

 

Sgt. Mark Lenihan filed a lawsuit in April in federal court accusing the city — specifically Mayor Daniel Bianchi, Police Chief Michael Wynn, and Police Capt. David Granger — of bypassing him for promotions multiple times in an act of retaliation.

 

His story reached the public on the weekend and then on Tuesday the city publicly denied the accusations.

 

"The city denies the allegations made by Mr. Lenihan and the city will be vigorously defending this action," reads a press released written by Wynn and authorized for release by  Bianchi.

 

Lenihan was bypassed for a lieutenant position twice after he voiced disagreement with the prior hiring process, according to court documents, despite having the top score on the exam. Lenihan claims Granger offered another candidate opportunities for more specialized training in exchange for favorable background checks on his and Bianchi's son.

 

According to Lenihan's complaint, the 28-year veteran of the force objected to Granger being involved in the interviewing and hiring for an entry-level position. The objection was that both Granger's and Bianchi's sons were candidates and therefore the two should not haven been involved in the hiring process. 

 

Granger's son's name rose to the top of the list, according to the complaint, because he has a "veteran's status," despite officers being unaware of any military service. Additionally, Lenihan says Granger's son had two "negative encounters" with police but never faced arrested because of his relationship to the captain. The incidents allegedly never tallied into assessments performed by Sgt. Michael Maddalena, whom Granger picked to run background checks on the candidates.

 

Maddalena later provided positive reports on Bianchi and Granger's sons and "in exchange," Lenihan contends that Maddalena was given additional training opportunities to pad his resume for a promotion.

 

The city has a counter story on the details surrounding the entry-level candidates.

 

The city denies that the two sons were candidates for the department. Bianchi's son, Matthew, didn't score high enough on the state provided list to be a candidate nor did he sign a list indicating he'd accept a position in Pittsfield, according to city officials. Granger's son, David Granger Jr., did score high enough to appear on the list but also did not sign the form indicating he'd accept a Pittsfield position.

 

 The city says the veteran status was an error committed by the state's Civil Service system and not that of the city. City officials say when the department saw the mistake, the personnel and the human resources division alerted Civil Service of the error. The city says Granger never claimed to be a veteran on his application and Civil Service fixed the mistake. 

 

Lenihan's complaint also says that at the same time, he had met with Bianchi to discuss officer morale, particularly caused by Granger. Lenihan's suit accuses Granger of overseeing an anti-crime and anti-gang units and giving preferential treatment. Those units are paid through overtime in which Granger "handpicked" the members, causing those officers to be "economically dependent" on the captain. Lenihan was outspoken about that, too, saying it caused dissent among the officers and was illegal because that practice didn't conform to collective bargaining contracts.

 

Lenihan stated he was the only officer to pass Civil Service captain's exam and was also the highest scoring on the lieutenant's examine. Maddalena scored lower than Lenihan and when a lieutenant's position opened in August 2014, Lenihan says Granger offered Maddalena numerous training seminars.

 

After interviews with Wynn and Bianchi, Maddalena was then offered the position.

 

The city, however, says the hiring and promotions are done in accordance with the Civil Service system. The state's system allows for candidates with higher test scores to be bypassed based on criteria. That includes disciplinary record (Lenihan reportedly was suspended three times), specialized training, leadership experience, specialized service, education, and interview performance.

 

 Lenihan said he started to experience "migraine headaches, elevated heart rate" and nausea related to stress caused by being bypassed for the job. He then filed for "injured on duty" but was denied the time off. 

 

 In October, Lenihan again applied for a lieutenant position and again the position was given to someone else.

 

Lenihan is asking for judgment, interest and attorney's fees on five counts outlined in his complaint. Magistrate Judge Katherine A. Robertson has scheduled a status conference for Feb. 10, 2016, in the Hampshire Courtroom in U.S. Court in Springfield.

 

Editor's note: Two separate articles previously published have been combined here and updated.