Ex-Rehoboth police officer sues for breach of contract

A former Rehoboth Beach police officer has filed a lawsuit in Delaware Superior Court in New Castle County claiming breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Sr. Cpl. Eric Hiller worked for the Rehoboth police department from 2007 until his termination in July 2019, which was upheld by the city commissioners that September. Hiller appealed the commissioners’ decision to Delaware Superior Court, which upheld Hiller’s termination in October 2020.

The litigation arises from an incident when a prisoner was injured while being transported by Hiller. The Rehoboth Beach Police Department initiated an internal investigation and charged Hiller with violations of its professional standards. 

In July 2018 and January 2019, Hiller took part in a computer voice stress analyzer exam so the department could examine whether he had been dishonest during his interviews in the internal investigation. He faced three charges of misconduct and requested a review before a disciplinary hearing panel.

The panel found that Hiller was not dishonest but did not answer questions and render relevant statements. However, the panel also found that the department violated Hiller’s Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights protections in how his questioning had been conducted. The LEO Bill of Rights is a set of due-process rights afforded to law enforcement officers, which has been codified into Delaware law. 

The Rehoboth police department is a unionized shop affiliated with General Teamsters Local 326 and has a collective bargaining agreement with the city. In that agreement are conditions for how and for what cause an employee can be fired.

In his lawsuit, Hiller alleges that the city did not demonstrate substantial evidence to fire him. He also alleged that the city did not provide him with an opportunity to oppose his termination prior to issue and that he was fired despite having no record of prior discipline. In firing him, Hiller alleged that the city violated his rights as spelled out in the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. 

Hiller is asking the court to find that the city violated its collective bargaining agreement with the teamsters union, and award him damages and attorney’s fees. 

The city has not yet filed its response, but is expected to within 30 days.