Former Lindsay lieutenant suing city over time off

LINDSAY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A former police lieutenant is suing the city that once employed him after he says they denied him time to see his sick daughter.

Bryan Clower was a longtime lieutenant in Lindsay. He claims he asked his boss 12 times over the last four years if he could take some unpaid time to be with his sick daughter and that each time they said no.

The attorney for Clower says his client was happy at his job at the Lindsay Police Department. That all changed back in February of this year when he was fired and brought an amended contract of his employment, saying he'd get only four months of pay as a severance package instead of the original six.

Clower's attorney Joe Altschule says he was forced to sign the new deal.

"He was told by Mr. Wilkinson, 'You sign this now or you get nothing.' And that's part of the problem," said Altschule.

Altschule says Clower also worked numerous 18-hour days in a row with no overtime pay or compensatory time off -- a violation of the state labor code.

What brought Clower the most pain, though, says Altschule, was a denial of the Family Medical Leave Act by Chief Rich Wilkinson.

"He asked for that on several occasions because his daughter was having serious surgeries, and he was told by Chief Wilkinson, 'Hey look your wife is a stay-at-home mom, you don't need that, let her take care of it.' That is totally contrary to the law," said Altschule.

Altschule says Clower wanted the unpaid time off to be with his daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy. Twelve times he claims he asked for the medical leave and was denied.

"He was torn between his family and doing his job, which he had always done very well and quite admirably," said Altschule.

City of Lindsay officials completely deny the claims made in the lawsuit. Councilwoman Pam Kimball says Clower was fired for a good reason and is lying.

"He understood that at the time, which is why he signed a contract that gave him a certain level of severance pay," said Kimball. "And he agreed not to sue the city, so he is now in breach of contract."

Clower says he's just looking for justice for the city's current officers.

The city council is expected to come up with a response to the lawsuit at their next meeting.