Meter still running in police case
Three years after a jury acquitted a Pittsburgh police officer of murder, the bills associated with the case stand at nearly $640,000 -- and soon could nearly double.
The costs are the product of four federal lawsuits generated by the murder trial of patrolman Jeffrey Cooperstein. He was acquitted of homicide in 2000, two years after he shot and killed a man during a car chase.
The most recent development: The lawyers for police Officer Robert C. Swartzwelder say they're owed $641,000 in legal fees. Swartzwelder is one of two city officers who claim they were demoted as a result of testifying on Cooperstein's behalf. Swartzwelder won a $113,000 federal jury award in November.
Lawyers for Swartzwelder and the city argued the fee issue Thursday before U.S. District Chief Judge Donetta Ambrose, who hasn't decided the issue.
City lawyers say Swartzwelder's attorneys want too much. They contend the proper amount is closer to $100,000.
"We're not going to pay $600,000," said City Solicitor Jacqueline Morrow. "It's a ridiculous demand."
Lt. Andrew Lisiecki, the other police officer who sued after testifying for Cooperstein, recently settled his federal lawsuit against the city for $95,000. The amount includes his attorneys' fees.
Brian Gabriel, an assistant city solicitor, said the city settled to prevent litigation costs from escalating. The settlement also commits the city to giving Lisiecki "first consideration" should one of three lieutenant positions in the police department's investigative unit become vacant.
Those cases are just part of the fallout from the Cooperstein case, a shooting that generated tension between police and the city's black residents, and also led to police infighting.
Cooperstein was a patrolman whom many suspected of operating a Web site called the Blue Knight, which posted scathing criticism of city police officials.
In 1998, Cooperstein, who is white, shot Deron S. Grimmitt Sr., who was black, during a car chase. Cooperstein said he shot in self-defense when Grimmitt tried to run him over.
Cooperstein was charged with homicide, and a jury acquitted him in February 2000. That's when the city's legal battles began.
Three months after his acquittal, the city agreed to pay Cooperstein $211,000 in back and disability pay to settle a lawsuit he filed claiming the city failed to accommodate his multiple sclerosis. The city also pays him an annual $21,000 pension.
A year after the trial, the city agreed to pay $175,000 to settle the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Grimmitt's mother, Bettye J. Grimmitt.
Then, Swartzwelder and Lisiecki sued the city, police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr. and other Pittsburgh police officials, saying the department retaliated against them after they testified for Cooperstein.
In separate lawsuits, Swartzwelder and Lisiecki charged that McNeilly violated their First Amendment rights by ordering that officers get his permission before testifying.
In 1999, McNeilly demoted Swartzwelder, a former instructor at the Pittsburgh Police Academy, to patrolman and transferred him to the Hill District station after Swartzwelder decided to testify for Cooperstein. Lisiecki was demoted from team leader in the Special Weapons and Tactics unit to patrolman in Zone 1.
U.S. Magistrate Robert Mitchell issued a preliminary injunction to block McNeilly's order, and the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld Mitchell's ruling. The appeals court found that the chief's order restricted "speech on matters of public concern." It further ruled that "court testimony, whether compelled or voluntary, is always a matter of public concern."
Last Thursday's fee arguments before Judge Ambrose wasn't the first time the two sides tangled over how much Swartzwelder's lawyers should be paid.
In March, the 3rd Circuit passed judgment on one batch of legal bills submitted by the team of six lawyers involved in the case, awarding $45,810 of the $63,447 they requested.
"We are proud to have represented Bob Swartzwelder, and we believe that important rights were vindicated in this litigation," said one of Swartzwelder's lawyers, Cristopher C. Hoel.
Additional Information:
Cost of lawsuit
Legal costs associated with the Jeffrey Cooperstein homicide trial:
