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On July 7th former Taylortown, NC police chief
Tim Blakeley received a jury verdict in his
favor upon the conclusion of his wrongful
termination trial against the town that had
formerly employed him. Mr. Blakeley was
represented by PBA attorneys John Roebuck and J.
Michael McGuinness. The jury returned a verdict
of $291,000 in Blakeley’s favor. After offset of
his wages earned since his termination, the
verdict stood at $100,000.
PBA took the case in 2007 after Blakeley, who
had an unblemished record with Taylortown, was
abruptly fired after his cooperation with an SBI
investigation of Taylortown Mayor Ulysses
Barrett, Jr. When Blakeley was unable to find
employment in law enforcement, he went to
Afghanistan for private security employment. For
the duration of his case, PBA was actively
involved in seeking Blakeley’s day in court.
For additional information regarding this
verdict, please see the link below.
[link to July 7th Pilot article]
A grateful PBA member
speaks out
Below are portions of a letter to PBA sent by
Tim Blakeley after his verdict was returned.
“I wanted to thank the PBA for standing with me
on my wrongful termination. It is not often that
a law enforcement officer has an opportunity to
win an employment case, especially in a
“right-to-work” state. You know as well as I
just how difficult it is to prove the elements.
As law enforcement officers we pride ourselves
in being strong, and as it states in the N.C.
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, to protect the
“weak against oppression or intimidation.” But
where are law enforcement officers to turn when
they are the weak ones suffering from oppression
and intimidation? In my case, I was fortunate
enough to be a member of the PBA, an
organization committed to defending the rights
of law enforcement officers like me.”
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