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the city to provide Fioretto with questions to ask and points to make in cross-examination and ways to discred- it the city’s position.
An opportunity to do so came when a city witness testi- fied that the Superintendent McCarthy had implemented the same order regarding visible tattoos when he was in New York. When the Lodge countered with the fact that in New York those officers with visible tattoos were grandfa- thered in – and that the military made the same provision – the city witness replied he was not aware of that, accord- ing to Harvey. But now the arbitrator was.
Arbitrator Zimmerman also responded to Galassi’s testimony when asked about how wearing long-sleeve shirts would affect mounted officers. The burden when mounted in the middle of summer would be unbearable, and Galassi also shed light on how covering up would add additional strife in the barn environment where mounted officers also work amidst sweltering conditions.
“The testimony complemented the fact pattern about impact on officers’ daily lives,” Fioretto noted. “We were able to show a tattoo is not like the color of your hair or a mustache; that you can’t just shave or have it cut to get it removed. It’s a permanent part of you.”
Francis expounded on the summertime blues by com- menting how covering up could create fears of dehydra- tion, and he also discussed the uniformity issue: If one member of a unit has to cover up, then all would want to because that’s the unwritten rule of a unit presenting as one.
When Ryan presented his testimony, the city cross-ex- amined by focusing on the lightning bolt tattoo on his right arm. The city tried to argue that the ink represented a logo for a company Ryan worked for as an independent contractor in his off time, which is a violation because of- ficers are not allowed to display a brand.
“We Googled the actual corporate logo, and their inter- pretation was incorrect,” Ryan disclosed.
After that, what the Lodge needed to finish making its case was a crescendo of testimony hitting officer safety. Enter Casiano, who engaged in an incredibly well-orches- trated Q-and-A with Fioretto that established him as the credible witness who had trained thousands of officers in firearms use and in 13 years probably trained the Depart- ment “three times over.”
As Casiano detailed how techniques for safe use and discharge of a duty weapon would be severely hampered by covering up tattoos on the hand with tape or adhesive bandages, he dispelled that path of cover-up. Casiano asserted how any wearing gloves would reduce an offi- cer’s dexterity when handling the weapon and potentially cause other complications.
“The way Pat asked the questions to get the respons- es we needed pretty much shaped what the outcome of this hearing was going to be,” Casiano emphasized. “The music was coming out and everybody was on beat. After my testimony, the room went silent we could feel the city sinking in their seats.”
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29 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2016