Appellate Court Orders Sheriff to Rehire Seipler

An appellate court has ordered the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office to rehire former Deputy Zane Seipler. 

The ruling affirmed the decision by the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police arbitration that Seipler should have been assigned a three-day suspension for his infractions rather than being discharged from his post in 2008. 

That order was upheld by McHenry County Circuit Court in 2010 and subsequently affirmed by the appellate court on Sept. 22. 

“It’s time to stop fighting this issue and put this man to work,” said Seipler's attorney Blake Horwitz. 

Horwitz, who represents Seipler in his wrongful termination lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office and McHenry County in federal court, said the former deputy contacted the sheriff’s office Saturday about returning to work. 

Seipler did not return a call requesting comment. 

According to court documents, Seipler was fired after an investigation into the circumstances surrounding traffic citations issued by the deputy on June 29 and July 11, 2008. 

In both cases the documents state that passengers accepted Seipler’s offer to take control of the vehicles instead of arresting the unlicensed drivers. When the passengers and drivers switched positions, Seipler issued the tickets to the passengers — one was for speeding, the other for not wearing a seat belt and driving without insurance. 

On both citations Seipler listed the offender’s race as Caucasian, although the driver operating the vehicle without insurance was Hispanic, according to the background information contained in the court order. 

When the mother of one of the ticketed passengers complained, the sheriff’s office opened an investigation into Seipler’s conduct and he subsequently was placed on administrative leave. 

The facts of the incidents were not disputed by either party, according to court documents. Seipler said he acted properly in exercising officer discretion. 

The McHenry County Peace Officers Unit filed a grievance alleging Seipler was fired without just cause. The union and sheriff’s office met with IFOP to resolve the dispute. 

The IFOP arbitrator determined that the department had penalized another deputy for similar behavior with a three-day suspension despite a recommendation from an investigator that the deputy be terminated. 

IFOP ordered the department to rehire Seipler and compensate him for his loss. 

Sheriff Keith Nygren, who filed both appeals, argued in his complaint that keeping Seipler on the force would “impugn the reputation of the entire department.” However, the court noted the arbitrator’s findings of Seipler’s good work ethic without a history of disciplinary problems, concluding Seipler is a good candidate for disciplinary action and the suspension is warranted instead of discharge. 

“The court found he should go back to work,” said John Roche, an IFOP attorney. The IFOP was also a defendant in the case. 

Roche said that while arbitration is not an uncommon practice, it is unusual for a case to go beyond that process and into the courts. 

Nygren now has the option of asking the Supreme Court if it will consider an appeal. 

Nygren declined to comment Monday, stating he had not yet discussed the ruling with his attorney. 

A call to Nygren’s attorney was not immediately returned.