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SCRANTON — A case management plan for a suit pitting a part-time police officer against Ashley Borough officials was released Thursday.
John H. Urbanski, of Nanticoke, a former part-time police officer for Ashley Borough, filed suit in December in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Scranton, against the borough, its council and borough manager, alleging he was targeted for retaliation after he attempted to unionize the department.
The plan states that reports from experts on the plaintiff side are due Nov. 30 and for the defendant by Dec. 31. The trial will go in front of a federal jury in March 2017.
The complaint states that on June 29, 2015, Urbanski sent a text message to all Ashley police officers, including Police Chief David Fedorczyk and Sgt. Joseph McGlynn III, the son of Ashley Borough Council member Joseph McGlynn Jr. The text message said Urbanski would keep signatures on a petition for collective bargaining confidential and recommended those replying to not “reply all” but to “please call me or message me directly.”
The plan states that Fedorczyk issued a written warning to Urbanski on July 17, 2015, for several conduct infractions, including smoking inside vehicles and while handling calls, conducting a traffic stop with his personal vehicle while off duty and striking a fence with a department vehicle and failing to document. The next day, Urbanski notified borough officials of his interest in forming a union.
Urbanski had a hearing in September on the infractions, the plan states.
The suit also claims borough manager Greg Gulick told Urbanski, “You know you’ll lose your job over this” and informed him that if the police department unionized, Pennsylvania State Police would take over coverage of the borough.
In April, borough officials denied they retaliated against Urbanski and that Gulick made the comments.
Urbanski is suing for unspecified damages, including punitive damages by individual council members, interest and legal fees.