Bristol Borough Settles Lawsuit With Cop Who Didn't Want to Cover Up On-Duty Sex; No Admission of Liability For Anyone
CYA in effect
Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania settled a lawsuit filed by Ritchie Webb, a police officer who claimed he was harassed for refusing to help cover up for an officer who Webb says admitted to him that he had coerced a woman on a domestic dispute call to have sex with him. That officer, Sam Anderson, resigned and was eventually convicted of "official oppression." He spent three months in jail. The woman settled her own lawsuit with the borough this summer, for $385,000. Webb settled his for $440,000, and remains on the force. In the lawsuit he alleged various officials. Webb's allegations included that a borough attorney pressed him to change his testimony about Anderson, that two fellow officers came to his house to tell him to do what he's told and "be a man," and that he was threatened with being fired if he spoke up about other incidents Anderson had been involved in.
The defendants in the lawsuit—the mayor, council president, police chief, and other officers including the police union president—were dismissed from the suit before the settlement, leaving Bristol Borough as the only remaining defendant, according to the borough's attorney. He told the Bucks County Courtier Times that "[w]hile all defendants deeply regret that any payment was made here, borough council also believes that it acted in the best financial interest of the taxpayers in allowing the insurer to settle the matter." The settlement stresses all the defendants named in the suit "admit no liability of any sort by reason of the alleged matters and events." After being released from jail, Anderson rejoined a volunteer fire company in nearby Middletown. Though the woman's attorney said her lawsuit against Bristol wasn't about the money, that settlement, too, included a denial of liability. The settlement also declared the matter remained disputed.
