Fired LAPD Officer Gets $245,000 in Settlement

A Los Angeles police officer who was fired nine years ago for ripping up his lieutenant’s paycheck and mailing it to him in pieces will receive $245,000 to settle a lawsuit in which he alleged that his termination was excessive discipline.

Assistant City Atty. Robert Cramer said Thursday that, under the settlement, former Officer Jacob F. Krygoski, 40, has agreed not to return to the job.

Nonetheless, a police union official hailed the agreement as an affirmation of officers’ rights.

The Los Angeles City Council’s Finance and Review Committee is expected to authorize the settlement this month.

Admitted Tearing Up Check

Krygoski, who has since worked as a private security guard, was fired from the Police Department in 1978 after he admitted ripping up then-Lt. Michael A. Bagdonas’ paycheck, gluing the pieces to post cards and mailing them to Bagdonas one piece at a time.

Krygoski, according to his attorney, Jeffrey Epstein, was among a handful of officers “who weren’t happy with the way (Bagdonas) was conducting himself and just decided to harass him to get back.”

Along with the paycheck incident, three tons of gravel was dumped onto Bagdonas’ lawn, magazine subscriptions were ordered in his name and tire valves on his car were loosened, causing him to have a flat during a family outing in the desert.

Bagdonas has since been promoted to captain and commands the field enforcement section of the Police Department’s Narcotics Division.

After three police disciplinary board hearings and two rulings by the state Court of Appeal, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jack M. Newman last year found that Krygoski’s firing was “insupportable when compared to other instances” in which Los Angeles police officers were disciplined. Newman ordered that Krygoski be rehired with full back pay.

Angered by the judge’s decision, police administrators said they intended to give Krygoski a menial job with little responsibility. Krygoski had been a patrolman in the West Valley Division with 10 years on the force.

“In some types of employment, this situation might be considered mere horseplay; in others it is called challenging the command structure,” Cramer said Thursday.

David Baca, vice president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said the union would not have helped Krygoski pursue his lawsuit against the city had Krygoski simply been fined or temporarily suspended.

“We would have accepted any penalty short of termination, but the department decided to be stubborn and all they succeeded in doing was building up the damages,” Baca said. “This was an abuse of power and a classic example of lack of judgment on the city’s part.”