The appellant—a Birmingham police officer who worked at the Birmingham International Airport for about 10 years—was dismissed by the Birmingham Police Department (BPD) because he used a screwdriver to break into a locked storage bin. The bin contained voluntarily abandoned property (VAP) belonging to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The appellant was dismissed by the chief of police.
A hearing officer of the Jefferson County Personnel Board affirmed the dismissal. The dismissal was then appealed to a three-judge panel of the Jefferson County Circuit Court, as provided by a local act passed in 1947 governing personnel issues in Jefferson County. The three-judge panel found the dismissal to be arbitrary and capricious, indicating that no policies and procedures were in place to govern property voluntarily abandoned by passengers at the airport. The city appealed the decision to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.
The appeals court reversed the three-judge panel, finding that substantial evidence supported the police department's decision to dismiss the appellant. It was clear that the property in the VAP bin belonged to the TSA. At one time, the appellant had a key to the bin, but no longer had it and had accessed the bin by prying it open. In addition, the court observed that it's arguable that the appellant was dismissed for converting property to personal use, but there was no argument over whether prying open a locked storage bin was "contrary to good order and discipline," another rule cited by the BPD in reaching its decision. See Ex Parte City of Birmingham, decided on February 18, 2011.
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