‘I would not allow political influence': Opa-locka settles ex-police chief's whistleblower suit for $500K

A former Opa-locka police chief who said he was fired because he “refused to cave in to a city government rife with corruption” has reached a $500,000 settlement in his whistleblower lawsuit.

James Dobson, 52, had been with the department for six years, the last four as chief, when he was fired in August 2020.

He filed suit the next month, claiming his firing was retaliation because he refused requests of elected and appointed leaders to discipline officers who “properly enforced the law against politically connected citizens and businesses.”

“I was fired because I would not allow political influence in the police department,” Dobson told NBC6 on Wednesday.

“The people in that city were amazing, meaning the citizens, the residents, the visitors,” Dobson said. “The political involvement of the commissioners or the elected officials - it created the problems in that city, wanting to control the police department and, by law, I would not allow that to occur.”

One example cited in his lawsuit: Dobson was fired the day after an officer ticketed the cousin of ex-Mayor Matthew Pigatt for driving without a seat belt and violations involving her tag, registration and insurance.

That officer reported the cousin threatened him, saying, “She will have my badge.” But Dobson said he told the city manager at the time he would not discipline the officer.

Dobson was fired the next day in “direct retaliation for his protected activities,” his lawsuit stated.

A judge in October denied the city’s motion to have the case thrown out, saying there were disputes about facts that only a jury could decide.

Among the evidence Dobson’s attorney uncovered during the case, according to court pleadings: the city manager who fired him later said he was ordered to do so by the mayor, or the city manager would be fired instead.

Emails sent Wednesday morning to Opa-locka’s mayor and city manager seeking comment on the settlement have not been answered.

At the time, the city said Dobson was fired because an assessment of the department found “absent leadership, a scarcity of strategy and planning in guiding the department’s day-to-day operations, the increased crime rate and the overall lack of progress.”

“That’s definitely not true,” Dobson countered. “We put plans in place where actually, crime was down and most of those issues were financial,” as the city had been placed under state oversight because of a raft of problems.

In settling the lawsuit, which sought more than $4 million in damages, the city did not admit the allegations made by Dobson and both sides agreed to pay their own attorneys’ fees and costs.

One of Dobson’s attorneys, Michael Pizzi, told NBC6 he sees the settlement as vindication for his client. 

“Today is a day when Chief Dobson has been completely, 100 percent exonerated. He got a check for half a million dollars. He was willing to risk his career and his livelihood to do things the right way and stand for the right things,” Pizzi said.

The settlement avoids a trial where, if Dobson prevailed on his whistleblower claim, a defense expert was prepared to testify he suffered lost wages and benefits of $1.4 million, had he remained chief until 2031.

Dobson said the payment, which court records indicate will come from the city’s insurers, “definitely helps,” but added, “I haven’t been able to get a job -- not in the public sector, government, not in private sector. I know because of what occurred to me in that city is why I can’t get a job.”