Former Middletown deputy police chief loses breach of contract case
A New London judge ruled Friday that the City of Middletown did not illegally terminate former Deputy Police Chief Patrick T. McMahon after investigating a claim that McMahon was drinking in a bar while carrying a gun and badge.
Judge Joseph Q. Koletsky issued the ruling from the bench following a trial in Superior Court.
McMahon and his attorney, Richard Padykula, could not immediately be reached for comment and it was unclear whether he planned to appeal.
McMahon, of Norwich, had a 28-year police career, working in Norwich from 1984 to 2003 and in the City of Groton from 2003 to 2007.
He was hired as deputy police chief of Middletown in 2007.
Then-Mayor Sebastian T. Giuliano named him police chief in 2009, but the City Council twice voted down the nomination.
On Sept. 29, 2011, weeks before city voters were to decide at the November election whether McMahon should become chief, McMahon, then the acting chief, attended a gathering of police and firefighters at the Mezzo Grille.
According to court documents, he was wearing khaki slacks and a polo shirt, carrying his personal gun in a holster on his waist and wearing a badge that identified him as a police officer but was not his official badge.
While in the bar, McMahon bought one or more rounds of drinks, but "there is a dispute as to whether he drank alcohol," according to the court document.
He was placed on administrative leave in October 2011, and in the November election, Giuliano lost the election to Mayor Daniel T. Drew, according to court documents.
In February 2012, Drew terminated McMahon.
The investigation found that McMahon had not violated a rule concerning the consumption of alcohol but that he had engaged in "conduct unbecoming a police officer" by being untruthful about the incident to the mayor and personnel director.
In his lawsuit against the city, McMahon had claimed he was fired without just cause and in breach of his contract.
The city's attorneys could not immediately be reached for contact Friday afternoon.
k.florin@theday.com
Twitter: @KFLORIN
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