Melvindale Mayor Nicole Shkira (left), City Attorney Larry Coogan and Mayor Pro Tem Joe Jackson listen to discussion about former police officer Matthew Furman’s payout, which is contractually mandated, during the May 6 City Council meeting.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE – The City Council approved the contractually mandated $49,000 payout for fired Melvindale police officer Matthew Furman, who recently was found guilty of assault and battery, during its May 6 meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem Joe Jackson said that he thought the payout was “absolutely ridiculous,” and the next time the city engages in contract negotiations something should be done to prevent the city from a similar payout situation in the future.
He said there was “no way in the world” that the city should be providing Furman with a payout.
Jackson asked if the city could recoup from Furman what he cost the city in lawsuit payouts, to which City Attorney Lawrence Coogan said he was not prepared to discuss the matter at the current time.
Mayor Nicole Shkira said the city paid one of Furman’s alleged victims $1.5 million, and said Furman was subsequently found not guilty, to which Coogan said there is a different standard of proof for criminal cases, which are proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and civil litigation, which is based on a preponderance of evidence.
“So, the burden of proof to prove a civil case is a lot less than a criminal case,” he said. “I don’t want to bad-mouth people too badly, but the prosecution handling the case – it’s not how I would have handled it.”
Coogan said he would have brought in expert witnesses to testify about law enforcement protocol and about the proper use of a Taser.
The city attorney reiterated that in the three separate cases, Furman was found not guilty in one, guilty in the second, and pled “no contest” in the third, which means he accepts the punishment as if he were guilty without formally admitting guilt.
Coogan said that he can speculate that the county prosecutor knew that once Furman was convicted of one felony he could no longer serve as a police officer, so that may be why the prosecution was not taken to the next level.
He said the city’s insurance company agreed to payouts for the lawsuits brought by victims of Furman’s alleged actions because damage awards following the outcome of a trial would have likely been more than the amounts for which they settled.
Coogan said settling the lawsuits brought as a result of Furman’s actions were not made by him as city attorney nor by the city council.