Detective challenges brain scan in federal court
By Luke Broadwater, lbroadwater@patuxent.com
Posted 7/10/09
A police detective ordered to undergo a brain scan sparred in court with Baltimore County government lawyers last week, asking a federal judge to order the county to “cease and desist” its treatment of officers who’ve had a seizure in their medical history.
The July 1 motions hearing in Baltimore’s U.S. District Court was the latest in what’s been a three-year battle for Baltimore County Detective William Blake, who opposes undergoing a procedure he calls “highly intrusive.”
Blake asked Judge Benson Legg to grant summary judgment to the officer, who seeks at least $300,000 for claims that the county violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Blake’s attorney, Kathleen Cahill, has said in court that the U.S. Justice Department also has been investigating the case.
The conflict began in 2004 after Philip Crumbacker, a 22-year veteran, was declared medically unfit for duty after crashing his car during a seizure.
Blake and two other officers testified on Crumbacker’s behalf during an Aug. 31, 2006, administrative hearing that each had single episodes similar to seizures but were fit for duty and experienced no subsequent medical problems.
Former Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan, who now heads the state police, ordered each to submit to fit-for-duty exams the day after the hearing, according to Blake’s suit.
Blake, a 30-year veteran, suffered a seizure in 1996 but was cleared for duty one month later.
“This (Sheridan’s) action has been ordered ... wholly without legal basis and in violation of Officer Blake’s rights,” Cahill wrote in the suit. “Compelling an employee to submit to a medical evaluation and to turn over medical records, wholly without medical justification, is illegal.”
Legg said it was obvious that Blake is “fit for duty.”
Cahill alleges the scan is payback for the officer’s testimony at the Crumbacker hearing.
Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson has said it’s important to know which officers are prone to seizures because of public safety concerns, such as driving a car or using a firearm during a sniper situation.
Legg could rule at any time on the motions. Each side is asking the judge to rule in its favor without going to trial.
The July 1 motions hearing in Baltimore’s U.S. District Court was the latest in what’s been a three-year battle for Baltimore County Detective William Blake, who opposes undergoing a procedure he calls “highly intrusive.”
Blake asked Judge Benson Legg to grant summary judgment to the officer, who seeks at least $300,000 for claims that the county violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Blake’s attorney, Kathleen Cahill, has said in court that the U.S. Justice Department also has been investigating the case.
The conflict began in 2004 after Philip Crumbacker, a 22-year veteran, was declared medically unfit for duty after crashing his car during a seizure.
Blake and two other officers testified on Crumbacker’s behalf during an Aug. 31, 2006, administrative hearing that each had single episodes similar to seizures but were fit for duty and experienced no subsequent medical problems.
Former Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan, who now heads the state police, ordered each to submit to fit-for-duty exams the day after the hearing, according to Blake’s suit.
Blake, a 30-year veteran, suffered a seizure in 1996 but was cleared for duty one month later.
“This (Sheridan’s) action has been ordered ... wholly without legal basis and in violation of Officer Blake’s rights,” Cahill wrote in the suit. “Compelling an employee to submit to a medical evaluation and to turn over medical records, wholly without medical justification, is illegal.”
Legg said it was obvious that Blake is “fit for duty.”
Cahill alleges the scan is payback for the officer’s testimony at the Crumbacker hearing.
Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson has said it’s important to know which officers are prone to seizures because of public safety concerns, such as driving a car or using a firearm during a sniper situation.
Legg could rule at any time on the motions. Each side is asking the judge to rule in its favor without going to trial.
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