Lorain Fraternal Order of Police sues city to get officer reinstated

LORAIN — The Lorain Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 has sued the city in an appeal of an arbitration ruling. The FOP filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Tuesday on behalf of former officer Zachary Ferenec. It alleges the arbitrator assigned to a grievance filed by Ferenec exceeded his power when siding with the city in a May 8 ruling. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 President Kyle Gelenius said the civil suit is to overturn the arbitrator's award to the city. Ferenec rejoined the Lorain Police Department in January 2020, about a year after he filed grievances against the department when initially barred from rescinding his resignation in 2019. Ferenec resigned from the department in December 2018, but was unable to reverse his resignation in early 2019 following a crash in Elyria where he was charged with operating a vehicle impaired. Stemming from the crash, Ferenec pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless operation; along with disorderly conduct and failure to control. When he was not permitted to rescind his resignation, Ferenec filed two grievances against the department: one that he was discriminated against and the second for the city failing to allow him to revoke his resignation. The discrimination grievance was settled quickly, with the arbitrator ruling no discrimination had occurred. The second continued until an agreement was met to reinstate Ferenec while placing him on a last chance agreement with the city. According to the court filing, Safety/Service Director Sanford Washington terminated Ferenec on June 23, 2020, for violating that agreement. Washington said an administrative investigation was performed and resulted in a recommendation to terminate Ferenec. He declined to comment on the lawsuit itself. Gelenius said at the time of Ferenec's termination, the officer was assigned to dispatch without adequate training and was performing duties outside of his collective bargaining agreement. Ferenec filed a grievance June 26, 2020, alleging his termination was a breach of the last chance agreement he was under. He requested reinstatement, and to be made whole for time lost, including back pay and expungement of the incident from his personnel file. The grievance alleges the city violated the FOP's collective bargaining agreement, and acted in bias in not wanting Ferenec to return to the department. In July 2020 the FOP appealed to an arbitrator, selecting Dennis Minni to conduct the process, according to the filing. In May 2021, Minni denied Ferenec's grievance, stating the issue was not arbitrable. ""Working through the process, Officer Ferenec felt that he should've had his opportunity to present his case to the neutral arbitrator," Gelenius said. "Unfortunately the arbitrator ruled that it was not arbitrable, therefore forcing us to file this lawsuit on behalf of Officer Ferenec so he can have his day in court." Police Chief Jim McCann declined to comment on the lawsuit, stating he had not seen the filing. Ferenec and another Lorain officer were investigated but never charged for the 2014 arrest of Pele Smith. Dashcam footage showed Ferenec slammed Smith into the windshield of a police cruiser, cracking the glass. A department review concluded Ferenec hadn't used excessive force in the incident, as the officer argued he and Smith stumbled, falling into the cruiser after Smith resisted arrest. A federal investigation declined to pursue charges. Smith filed a civil suit against Ferenec, other officers involved in his arrest, the department and city. It has since been dismissed. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.