Fired trooper sues public safety department

A former Utah Highway Patrol trooper has filed a suit in federal court claiming his firing was discriminatory.

In court documents filed Tuesday, Stanley Fieeiki said although he was involved in a domestic violence altercation, the Utah Department of Public Safety singled him out for termination because he is Polynesian. The complaint states that Fieeiki was one of 15 officers charged with some sort of criminal action between 1998 and 2005 — 11 of them in domestic disputes similar to his own — but he was only one of two who were fired.

Fieeiki alleges that the 11 officers charged with domestic violence crimes were either suspended or issued letters of reprimand and the one officer terminated in the same time frame was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor.

Fieeiki had worked for UHP for almost five years when he was charged with domestic violence and domestic violence in the presence of a child after he struck his wife, the lawsuit states. It said he hit her out of self-defense as she attacked him in his sleep, but also said they reconciled and have not been involved in a domestic dispute since that time. Fieeiki was eventually convicted of simple assault, a class B misdemeanor.

The complaint contrasts the incident with those of two other "non-Polynesian officers" who were involved in seemingly more severe or repeat offenses.

"Mr. Fieeiki's termination was discriminatory because other non-Polynesian officers who committed the same or similar crimes were not terminated, and he was the only officer ever to be terminated before being convicted in a court of law," the complaint states.

Public safety spokesman Jeff Nigbur said that while the department hasn't yet reviewed the lawsuit, it plans to let the legal system take its course. In the meantime, he said he talked to the investigator on the case and was told Fieeiki's termination was solely based on the domestic violence charges.

"In my understanding he was terminated due to the domestic violence that occurred, and it had nothing to do with race, color or religion," Nigbur said.

e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com