U. Police fires another officer

Mary Terry dismissed for alleged involvement in 'disciplinary matter' University Police dismissed officer Mary Terry yesterday for her involvement in a "disciplinary matter," Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon confirmed last night. Terry is the third officer dismissed by University Police in the past three weeks. Officer Thomas McDade was dismissed on October 12 and officer Antonio Serrano was dismissed a week later on October 19. According to Seamon, University Police Chief George Clisby filed papers to dismiss Terry and notified the Fraternal Order of Police of the action on Tuesday. Clisby would not discuss the specifics of Terry's disciplinary case. "My concern is that when all of this appears in the newspaper it doesn't give a person a chance to defend [himself] and it doesn't work in the interest of the community," he said. Clisby also said Terry was given a pre-disciplinary hearing, but would not say when the meeting took place. But Dave Ball, president of Fraternal Order of Police lodge 113, said he and FOP member Peggy O'Malley accompanied Terry to her pre-disciplinary hearing "about a week to ten days before" Serrano's hearing, which took place on October 10. Ball said that at the hearing the FOP inquired about the allegations against Terry. "We asked what she was being charged with and they wouldn't tell us," he said. O'Malley was present with Terry at the University Police station on Locust Walk yesterday when Terry was notified of her termination, Ball said. Ball added that according to the contract between the Public Safety Department and University Police officers, there must be a hearing before police can take disciplinary action against an officer. After being terminated, an officer has the right to file a grievance through the FOP with the Labor Relations office, he said. If this occurs, Labor Relations will set up another hearing. If the Labor Relations hearing rules against the terminated employee, Ball said it is up to the employee to decide whether to take the case to arbitration. And if the employee decides in favor of arbitration, the union's attorney also has to agree that the case has a chance of winning before the FOP will file for an arbitration hearing, Ball said. On October 12, McDade was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault and was terminated from the force without a pre-disciplinary hearing. Another clause in officers' contracts gives University Police the right to terminate any officer charged with a felony. McDade was charged with the aggravated assault count and recklessly endangering another person for allegedly beating Drexel University alumnus Gregory Peifer outside of FUBAR on September 16 while he was off-duty. Seamon dismissed Serrano on October 19 for allegations that he and McDade transported two homeless men behind the Civic Center while uniformed and on-duty and beat them there on September 16. The District Attorney's office declined to press charges against Serrano "because they did not have a reasonable expectation of conviction" after reviewing the case, Seamon said. Terry was unavailable for comment.