Shawn Allyn, Vigneault's attorney, has petitioned the state appeals court to review a decision by a Hampden Superior Court judge to deny Vigneault's immediate reinstatement under Massachusetts whistleblower laws.
SPRINGFIELD -- Arguing a Hampden Superior Court judge misinterpreted the state whistleblower law, former Springfield Police Detective Steven Vigneault has appealed a recent decision not to reinstate him as an officer.
After a hearing on Feb. 3, Judge Michael Callan issued a swift decision denying Vigneault's bid for immediate reinstatement. In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court late last month, Vigneault argued he was coerced into resigning from the police force after he raised concerns over co-worker Gregg Bigda's excessive drinking and volatile behavior when Bigda discovered Vigneault was dating Bigda's ex-girlfriend, K-9 Officer Gail Gethins.
A confrontation among the three at Gethins' East Longmeadow home in March led to Gethins and Bigda tussling on the floor after he burst into her house, according to court records filed in Palmer District Court. Gethins argued Bigda was drunk and carrying a loaded weapon during the dispute. Bigda denies he had a gun.
Vigneault was present and said Bigda threatened to kill him and ruin their careers. Vigneault and Gethins reported the incident to their superiors and East Longmeadow police the next day. Gethins obtained a restraining order and criminal charges issued against Bigda, both of which were later dropped when Gethins declined to pursue them.
In the aftermath, Vigneault was transferred out of the narcotics unit while Bigda was allowed to stay, by all accounts. Police supervisors said Vigneault asked for the transfer while he argues he was forced out.
Meanwhile, a police incident involving Bigda and Vigneault that transpired a month before that blow-up would lie dormant before producing its own unfavorable headlines starting this summer.
Vigneault left his undercover car running outside a pizza shop on Worthington Street in February 2016. Four teens jumped in the car and took off, according to police reports. Wilbraham and Palmer police spotted the car and chased it into Palmer in the early morning hours of Feb. 27. They stopped the car and arrested three teens while a fourth was tracked by a police dog and injured.
That incident yielded an accusation of excessive force by a Wilbraham patrolman, who said a Springfield detective kicked one of the boys in the face while he was already handcuffed and on the ground. The patrolman did not identify any particular officer, but Vigneault became the likeliest suspect.
Later that morning, Bigda was caught on surveillance video in two holding cells in Palmer threatening violence and fake criminal charges against the boys if they did not cooperate.
Bigda was suspended for 60 days when the video became public months later. Vigneault resigned over the kicking allegation, but argues he never touched the boy and was spooked into quitting by Police Commissioner John Barbieri and patrolman's union President Joseph Gentile.
The incidents in February and March have proved a public relations disaster for the police department, and Vigneault sued over his resignation on Jan. 24. He named the city, Barbieri, Gentile, Bigda and union attorney Kevin Coyle in the complaint.
Vigneault's attorney, Shawn Allyn, argued to Callan that the whistleblower statute allowed for his client's immediate reinstatement while the case is litigated.
Callan, sworn in as a judge in late November, disagreed. He ruled that Vigneault's lawsuit was unlikely to succeed "on the merits," an important prong of deciding an emergency motion.
He did, however, say in open court and in his ruling that Vigneault's resignation and Bigda -- who has seemingly become a permanent liability for the police department and prosecutors -- remaining on the force seemed "imbalanced."
"Why is Bigda still there and this plaintiff is not?" Callan asked defense attorney Maurice Cahillane during the hearing.
Allyn on Wednesday petitioned the state appellate court for a review of Callan's ruling. He argued the lower court erred in its "blanket adoption of the Defendant City's arguments."
Allyn further argued that Callan ignored the spirit of the whistleblower law, which applies to public employees in Massachusetts.
"The primary and dominant purpose of the Whistleblower Act is to protect employees who come forward and report conduct that they reasonably believe creates a public risk to health and safety," Allyn wrote.
In his petition to the appellate court, Allyn notes that Vigneault reported Bigda's alcohol abuse to supervisors and was allegedly told "you didn't see anything; that never happened; keep your f***ing mouth shut."
Barbieri reports the department conducted a thorough investigation into allegations of Bigda drinking on the job -- and on the night of the Palmer interrogations -- and found them to be empty accusations.
While Vigneault argues in his lawsuit that there was "a conspiracy to protect Bigda," a department favorite, Callan disagreed. Allyn argues in his petition to the higher court that Callan ignored "substantial evidence" to support the conspiracy theory.
Vigneault's professional woes have been compounded by a protracted and public dispute between him and Gethins. The two broke up in September, Gethins argued, and Vigneault proceeded to pester and stalk her. She obtained a restraining order against Vigneault in late January that expires in May.
However, Gethins reported Vigneault for violating the no-contact order on Super Bowl Sunday by sending texts that read: "I love you!! I will FOREVER!"
There is a show-cause hearing scheduled for Feb. 15 in Springfield District Court on that matter to determine whether Vigneault should be charged with a misdemeanor.
