City Council Wednesday fired the police officer charged recently with having sex with a 16-year-old Indiana girl he had met through a law enforcement Web site.
The council fired 22-year veteran Herrick "Rick" Johnson, citing violation of departmental rules.
Officials declined to say whether the firing could deprive Johnson of his pension, but a section of pension law in the Third Class City Code seems to indicate it cannot.
The council approved the resolution to terminate Johnson unanimously, except for Erik Cagle, who was absent.
Personnel Director Omar Strohm asked for the termination, on recommendation of City Manager Joe Weakland and Police Chief Janice Freehling, according to the resolution.
The resolution cited Johnson's violation of four sections in the departments' Rules, Regulations, Policies and Procedures manual, but didn't specify what those rules are.
Officials declined to say, and the Mirror was not provided a copy of the manual at press time.
A call to Bill Boyles, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, was not returned late Wednesday.
The firing was made retroactive to Aug. 29, the expiration date for the period during which Johnson could have appealed to keep his civil service job, Weakland said.
He never asked for a hearing, Weakland said.
Solicitor Larry Clapper declined to speak about the case, saying ''it's a personnel matter that needs to work its way through the system.''
State police charged Johnson with endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of a minor.
The department first placed him on paid administrative leave, then changed that to unpaid leave when charges were filed.
The police pension chapter of the Third Class City Code seems to show that the city can't deprive Johnson of his pension by firing him.
In a section titled Inalienable Rights in Fund, the code states: ''Whenever any person shall become entitled to receive an allowance from the police pension fund ... he shall not be deprived of his right to an equal and proportionate participation therein upon the basis upon which he first became entitled thereto.''
Johnson would have become entitled when he became vested after 20 years, well before the charges.
Johnson's attorney Tom Forr declined comment.
The police pension board Aug. 27 determined it had no legal reason to deny Johnson's pension based on the state's Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act, board president John Carnicella said.
That act specifies crimes by which a municipality can deny a vested pension, but the charges against Johnson aren't among them, Carnicella said.
''I don't know administratively [with the city], but with the pension board, he is retired,'' Carnicella said.
The Mirror was unable to contact the Attorney General's office for comment.
