Fired officer files lawsuit to be reinstated, blames mayor

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - A New York cop who was fired in relation to a 2018 wrongful arrest has sued to get his job back.

Spenser McAvoy submitted court documents alleging that his termination was the result of a false narrative started by the Rochester man who was arrested, Christopher Pate, and pressure from Mayor Lovely Warren, the Democrat & Chronicle reported Monday.

City spokesman Justin Roj says the mayor was not involved in the disciplinary process.

“Officer McAvoy was fired, and his discipline was determined by the police chief for - along with his partner - beating and degrading a man for simply crossing the street,” Roj said.

McAvoy contends that Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary’s decision represents an abuse of discretion that is not supported by the evidence.

Singletary initially decided to terminate McAvoy in march and wrote that his “role/actions as the backup officer seem to point to a punitive nature rather than seeking to establish reasonable cause for the arrest.”

McAvoy seeks reinstatement with a penalty less than termination.

“Officer McAvoy’s conduct simply does not, under any reasonable view, warrant the harsh penalty of termination, and particularly not where it would effectively end his career as a police officer,” McAvoy’s attorney Daniel DeBolt wrote in a memorandum attached to the lawsuit.