Court ruling on Detroit mayor cuts both ways

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- An appeals court refused to throw out a lawsuit Friday that contends Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick fired a deputy police chief and retaliated against a former bodyguard for trying to investigate alleged misconduct by members of his security unit.
The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled there is "ample evidence" to bring former deputy chief Gary Brown's case to a jury.
The three-judge panel said there are suspicions about Kilpatrick's motives for firing Brown, and that the mayor gave inconsistent deposition testimony.
Brown was investigating claims from two former mayoral bodyguards -- including the other plaintiff, Officer Harold Nelthrope -- that the mayor used his bodyguards to facilitate and cover up extramarital affairs. Kilpatrick, 36, has denied the allegations.
Kilpatrick and the city, which had argued the lawsuit should be thrown out, did get one victory: The court reversed a lower-court ruling and said Nelthrope had not yet proved his claim under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Nelthrope, 50, sued the mayor and city after the administration released a confidential police memo naming him as a source of allegations of misconduct by other police bodyguards. In a TV news report, Kilpatrick called Nelthrope a liar and said he hoped the officer's family was watching.
Kilpatrick has said he dismissed Brown, 52, after receiving anonymous information that Brown was conducting unauthorized investigations.
Michael Stefani, an attorney for Brown and Nelthrope, said the court pointed out "the inherent incredibility of the mayor's reasons for terminating Brown."
Kilpatrick spokesman Matthew Allen welcomed parts of the ruling that threw out slander claims against the mayor and sent Nelthrope's whistleblower claim to the jury. But he said the city will appeal other parts of the ruling, and that the mayor "was acting within the scope of his authority" when he made the comments about Nelthrope.
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