Michigan Jury Awards Ex-Police Whistleblowers $6.5 Million

By Aaron Poehler

Published on September 11, 2007

The suit, brought by former Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown and former mayoral bodyguard Harold Nelthrope, alleged the two were unjustifiably punished after Brown began an investigation into allegations of misconduct by the mayor and members of his security detail.

The allegations, which were brought to Brown's attention by Nelthrope and another bodyguard, included drunken-driving accidents, falsified overtime records, and the facilitation and cover-up of extramarital affairs by Kilpatrick, including liaisons with Christine Beatty, Kilpatrick’s chief of staff.

Following the release of a confidential police memo naming him as a source of the allegations, Nelthrope was demoted and transferred out of the mayor’s security team, while Brown was dismissed from his position as deputy chief in charge of internal affairs.

Kilpatrick claimed Brown was removed because he lost confidence in the man’s abilities, though he failed to convince the jury of his position during the three-week trial. Following the conclusion of testimony, the 12-person jury deliberated for less than four hours before returning the unanimous verdict against Kilpatrick and the city of Detroit, awarding Brown $3.6 million and Nelthrope $2.9 million in wage and economic losses, future economic damages, and non-economic losses.

Kilpatrick reportedly plans to appeal the verdict.

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