Demoted Cop Reaches Settlement, Has Rank Restored

The agreement between Patrolman Matthew Josefson and the city has been entered as a consent decree in a Providence federal court

A Cranston, Rhode Island, police officer who said in a lawsuit against the city that he was tricked into accepting a demotion has settled the suit for $215,000 and will be restored to his former rank. 

The agreement between Patrolman Matthew Josefson and the city has been entered as a consent decree in a Providence federal court. 

Josefson will be reinstated to the rank of sergeant, effective Monday. 

Josefson sued after a state police investigation concluded that he was pressured and swindled into accepting a demotion from sergeant to patrolman over trumped-up or trivial transgressions that were based on non-existent policies. 

Mayor Allan Fung's director of administration, Robert Coupe, says the resolution will allow the city and police to avoid a "very expensive legal battle."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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