Dispatcher Arrested, Will Sue Over Firing

A former Brookfield (Conn.) police dispatcher accused last April of embezzling union funds has now notified the city he intends to sue for wrongful termination. Douglas Fisher, 49, was president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), local 136, which represents dispatchers and some other city workers. Newly-elected union officials discovered an accounting discrepancy in December 2009 and went to police. Fisher was arrested last April and put on administrative leave. He pleaded not guilty in court, and then in June the town selectmen fired him for making false statements during a non-criminal investigation into the matter. In an arrest affidavit, police said Fisher allegedly took $17,285 from the union’s bank account, specifically 103 checks written to himself from the union account during 2005 to 2007. There was also a $3,325 deposit into the union account from a cashier’s check, which police believe was Fisher’s attempt to return money he had taken. During an interview with police, Fisher claimed the checks he wrote to himself were for legitimate union expenses. But he also admitted “borrowing” money from the union fund because his second, part-time employer had withheld some pay from him. Fisher next appears in court Jan. 26, 2011. Download (pdf) the original police affidavit and Fisher’s letter of intent to sue here.