Fired West Melbourne police chief wins $350K settlement

Former West Melbourne police chief Brian Lock, who sued the city in federal court after he was fired in May 2012, has been awarded a $350,000 settlement.

But West Melbourne leaders disagree with their insurer's choice to settle the case as "a business decision," City Attorney Jim Wilson said.

Lock was fired after the West Melbourne City Council said he acted improperly by allowing a former police commander to retire on a medical disability, rather than face arrest or discipline for stealing pain pills from an evidence locker.

The following week, Lock sued the city of West Melbourne, Mayor Hal Rose, Councilwoman Stephany Eley and former councilman Michael Hazlett. Lock claimed that the trio schemed to terminate him for political reasons.

Lock's case was settled Tuesday during a conference presided by a U.S. magistrate judge at the federal courthouse in Orlando, said his lawyer, Thomas Pilacek of Winter Springs.

"I believe that the settlement is fair in that it basically pays the balance of my employment contract, and the settlement provides vindication and speaks volumes," Lock said.

"While personally I would have preferred to have a jury provide complete vindication, a settlement is best for my family and the citizens of West Melbourne. All of us are now able to move on and start anew," he said.

The city's insurance deductible was $25,000, and its insurer will pay $325,000, City Manager Scott Morgan said.

"The legal counsel assigned to the city's defense by our insurer consistently assured the city that the defense case was a strong one, and that it was his opinion that Brian Lock had been fired for the legitimate reason of covering up the theft of drugs from the police department evidence room by a high-ranking police officer and failing to discipline or investigate the officer in a professional manner as required under Lock's employment agreement," Morgan wrote in a statement.

Last month, a judge dismissed Lock's claims against Rose and Eley.

Councilman John Tice criticized the $350,000 settlement, labeling it "deplorable."

"I was disappointed that our legal counsel decided to settle. And I feel that we were totally misled, up until this decision was made Tuesday morning," Tice said.

"We had a strong case. We felt like we did the right thing as a council. I don't want people to think that this was the prevailing view of the council," he said.

"It's such a slap in the face, in my view, to the city of West Melbourne," he said.

Pilacek said he had felt "very confident" about the strength of Lock's case moving forward.

"But of course, the other side did too — which is always the case. Brian, for personal reasons, decided it was better to settle," Pilacek said.

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