York County commissioners deny FOP grievance over use of civil deputies at Saco demonstration

York County Commissioners denied a grievance from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) on March 5 that challenged the county’s use of civil deputies at a Sept. 13 demonstration in Saco.

The FOP argued the county violated provisions of the collective bargaining agreement by assigning civil deputies — employees the union says are meant to serve civil process — to crowd-control and patrol duties that the union says should be offered first to bargaining‑unit patrol deputies. ‘‘We feel strongly that that’s not the primary purpose of the civil deputy,’’ Joel Wilkinson, a labor specialist for the FOP, told the commissioners during public presentation of the grievance. The union cited Articles 8, 16 and 39 of the York County Sheriff’s Office collective bargaining agreement in its written grievance and asked the board to order a remedy or to negotiate clarifying language to prevent a recurrence.

The county and the sheriff said the deployment was appropriate management of limited resources. "My…