Former officer seeks jury trial

COEUR d'ALENE - A former Coeur d'Alene police officer suing the city for wrongful termination filed a demand for jury trial in Federal Court on Friday.

Dan Dixon, a 17-year veteran of the force, is seeking an unspecified amount of relief for lost wages and benefits as well as compensation for mental anguish and loss of reputation and attorney fees, according to the file.

A tort claim filed last November by Dixon's attorney, Larry Beck, sought $3 million in restitution for Dixon's July firing.

According to the tort claim records, Dixon was terminated after the department finished a six-month investigation into allegations he tampered with a subordinate officer's work schedule and cheated on his own time card.

The complaint was the fourth filed by the same subordinate officer, the previous three of which were dismissed by the department, the court filing states.

The claim says that when Dixon learned of the fourth complaint against him, he requested an internal investigation against the complaining officer, but instead was investigated himself beginning shortly after Christmas last year.

Following the investigation, Dixon, a lieutenant, was offered a patrol position, but refused it. He was then terminated, according to tort records.

Dixon was earning around $150,000 a year, including benefits, at the time of his firing. He is seeking lost wages and future wages for another estimated eight years, when he planned to retire. The restitution would also cover his retirement and benefit packages, according to Beck.

The city's legal team had not received a copy of the complaint Friday afternoon, and could not comment on the personnel issue.

Beck said after the city files its response, he hoped a trial would be scheduled in the next 12 months.