Ouster of Miner police chief upheld by Scott County judge

A judge has upheld the impeachment and ouster of the former, elected police chief of Miner, Missouri.

Christopher Griggs had gone to court in an effort to get his job back after the Scott County city's board of aldermen impeached him at the conclusion of a three-hour hearing in March.

Board members impeached Griggs for failing to work 40-hour weeks and be on call at all times, and improperly terminating a part-time dispatcher after she was rehired by the board.

Griggs' attorney, James McClellan, filed a petition for judicial review in Scott County Circuit Court.

McClellan wrote in the petition that "the impeachment proceedings were unlawful and illegal."

He alleged Griggs was denied his constitutional rights, including those of due process and equal protection.

But Judge Stephen Mitchell, in a 19-page ruling on Wednesday, wrote that the decision to impeach Griggs "was supported by competent and substantial evidence."

The judge found that Griggs' constitutional rights were not violated.

State law allows for aldermen to remove an elected officer of a fourth-class city by a two-thirds vote of the board. In Griggs' case, the aldermen voted unanimously to impeach Griggs.

The board's action led to the termination of Griggs as police chief on March 15.

Griggs' attorney argued that his client was denied due process because the aldermen participated in an investigation of Griggs' conduct and also made the decision to impeach him.

But Mitchell ruled the situation did not create "an unconstitutional risk of bias." The evidence shows that the aldermen hired an independent firm to investigate Griggs' conduct, the judge observed.

There was no evidence that the board was unable to judge Griggs fairly at the impeachment hearing, Mitchell ruled.

"Simply put, mere allegations of impartiality and bias alone are insufficient to overcome the presumption in favor of the honesty and impartiality of administrative decision makers," the judge wrote.

Mitchell found that the administrative record of the city "supports" the finding that Griggs failed to work 40 hours a week as required by city ordinance.

Board minutes include admissions made by Griggs that he worked 25 to 30 hours a week.

The judge also found that Griggs failed to follow the directives of the board by firing the part-time dispatcher.

"The court finds that the board of aldermen's decision to impeach petitioner was not unreasonable, arbitrary or lacking in consideration," Mitchell wrote. "Therefore, the court finds that the board of aldermen's decision was not an abuse of discretion."

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