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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The president of the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association said the union wants the officer whom Mayor Tony George disclosed was fired for pointing a loaded gun at fellow officers reinstated to the department.</p><p>Sgt. Phil Myers declined to talk Wednesday about the incident that led to Kyle Rogers&#8217; firing, saying the union has a grievance pending and a hearing before an arbitrator in June.</p><p>But Myers disputed the mayor&#8217;s statements made a day earlier about why the union is supporting the fired officer. Myers said that, among other things, the grievance deals with Rogers getting back his job. &#8220;That&#8217;s part of it,&#8221; Myers said.</p><p>&#8220;We feel that he was terminated without just cause,&#8221; Myers added.</p><p>George said the grievance is based on the union&#8217;s position the officer was not given due process through a &#8220;Loudermill&#8221; hearing that provides him the opportunity to present his case to the administration before it makes a decision.</p><p>&#8220;Our basis for the grievance had nothing to do with the Loudermill hearing,&#8221; Myers said.</p><p>He also said the full story will come out at the hearing. The Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s Office cleared Rogers of any wrongdoing after conducting a criminal investigation, Myers said.</p><p>Rogers, who joined the force in February 2014 and was let go on Jan. 8 of this year, was paid a base salary of $61,130 plus benefits, said Tyler Ryan, the mayor&#8217;s executive assistant. Rogers has since been hired as a part-time officer at $18.50 an hour by the Harveys Lake Police Department. He could not be reached for comment.</p><p>Michell&#8217;e Boice, a member of Harveys Lake Borough Council, said Rogers&#8217; hiring was no different than that of any other part-time officer in the borough. She explained an advertisement is placed in local newspapers and the police committee, made up of three members of council, Mayor Clarence Hogan and police chief Charles Musial interview the applicants and make recommendations to the council on whom to hire.</p><p>&#8220;I have never voted against what they recommended,&#8221; said Boice, who is not a member of the borough&#8217;s police committee.</p><p>But nothing about Rogers&#8217; termination and the gun incident were made known to Harveys Lake Borough Council before the vote to hire him was taken at a public meeting .</p><p>&#8220;I would remember that,&#8221; Boice said. &#8220;I would have serious questions about that.&#8221;</p><p>Boice said she is a &#8220;firm believer in due process&#8221; and relies on the police chief to vet applicants.</p><p>Musial was not available Wednesday. He told the Times Leader Tuesday that before he hired Rogers, he contacted the district attorney&#8217;s office and was told the case was closed and no law was broken. Rogers has shown himself to be professional and a good worker, Musial said.</p><p>Boice said the borough recently had to fill two positions and she suggested the pay be listed in the advertisement because the borough pays one of the highest part-time rates in the area.</p><p>Should the union prevail in the grievance, the borough will look into replacing Rogers, Boice said.</p><p>&#8220;If he gets his job back, he&#8217;ll lose his job here,&#8221; she said. The contract for Wilkes-Barre police officers prevents them from working for another department, she said.</p><p>A former Wilkes-Barre City police chief and councilman, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/538315/wb-police-officer-terminated-after-pointing-loaded-gun-at-others-during-roll-call-says-mayor-george" target="_blank">George brought up the firing during a scheduled meeting Tuesday with the Times Leader Opinion Board</a>. He did not identify Rogers and cited the termination as an example of his duty to uphold his &#8220;law and order&#8221; campaign platform upon taking office in January.</p><p>&#8220;When I first took office, one of the first things I did with the police department was fire, terminate, one of the individuals that was in there. He pointed a gun at two other officers and that was done in early December,&#8221; George said. He went on to say the gun was the officer&#8217;s duty weapon and the incident took place in the roll-call room when officers were bidding on jobs for 2016.</p><p>George said the officer stated he was goofing off. &#8220;You don&#8217;t point a loaded gun at anybody, goofing off or not. That&#8217;s one of the things you don&#8217;t do,&#8221; George said.</p><p>The gun incident was the latest in a series of four disciplinary actions the officer had &#8220;in three or four months,&#8221; the mayor said.</p><p>Rogers was given a Loudermill hearing in December while Tom Leighton was still mayor, George said. &#8220;They just didn&#8217;t do anything with it,&#8221; George said of the previous administration.</p><p>Leighton did not return a call for comment Wednesday afternoon.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Myers </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Myers_Phil.jpg</photo0><caption0>Myers </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_KyleRogers.CMYK_.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rogers </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_KyleRogers.CMYK_.jpg</photo1><caption1>Rogers </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Union wants fired Wilkes-Barre police officer reinstated to department