Ex-Lynn cop’s suit vs. city dismissed

LYNN – A Salem Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Jeffrey P. Gilmore, a former Lynn police officer, who alleged city officials treated him abusively and improperly when they enforced the city’s residency requirement and prompted his transfer to the Everett Police Department.Gilmore accused Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. and others of breach of contract, interference with his contractual relations, intentionally inflicting emotional distress, invasion of privacy, abuse of process, coercion, intimidation and making threats.Gilmore was a police officer in Lynn for more than 10 years. He was hired on Jan. 19, 1995 and began service on Jan. 30, 1995. On Jan. 25, 1995, he signed a statement in which he acknowledged understanding of the city’s residency law.From the time he joined the Police Department until August 2004, Gilmore lived in Lynn. He then purchased a home in Topsfield. However, he contended he resided in a Lynn rental apartment and only stayed overnight in Topsfield when not working.On Dec. 6, 2005, the city’s Residency Compliance Commission held a meeting to request municipal department heads provide residency documentation for all employees affected by the local ordinance. In April 2006, the commission held a hearing to determine if four police officers, including Gilmore, were in compliance.The commission found that after buying the Topsfield home, Gilmore remained registered to vote in Lynn and had recently voted from his Lynn address.Commissioners further lear-ned that Gilmore kept his off-duty clothing, uniforms, shoes, toiletries and television at the Lynn address and that he slept, ate meals and showered at the address.Gilmore’s complaint listed four Lynn home addresses – Burdett Road where he lived when first hired, Lauren Lane where he and his family moved in 1997, Falls Street in 2000 and Longwood Road in 2002.According to the court complaint, Gilmore sought a transfer to the Everett department in May 2006 “as a result of the intimidation and the highly invasive process at the hands of the city.” The transfer became effective July 27, 2006.In filing the lawsuit against the mayor, then-Police Chief John Suslak, Personnel Director Joseph Driscoll, City Clerk Mary Audley, City Solicitor Michael Barry and Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corp. Executive Director James Cowdell, Gilmore did not dispute the terms of his employment contract with the city.The court ruled that Gilmore’s allegations were unsupported and that he failed to follow the four-step grievance procedure established by the collective bargaining contract with the city.The residency law was among the major points of contention during the city’s mayoral race that ended Nov. 3 with candidate Judith Flanagan Kennedy, an adversary of the ordinance, elected as mayor. During her campaign, Kennedy repeatedly stated that employees should not be told where to live.”This is a nice win for the city,” Assistant City Solicitor James Lamanna said Monday.