WESTOVER – Former Westover Police officer Aaron Dalton is appealing his termination before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
This after his firing was upheld by the Westover Civil Service Commission and affirmed through unsuccessful appeals in Monongalia County Circuit Court and the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals.
Attorney Tim Stranko briefed Westover City Council on Monday, explaining Peter DeMasters will continue to represent the city through the Supreme Court review at an anticipated cost of $7,500 to the city.
Prior to his termination, Dalton was a lieutenant with the Westover Police Department. He was suspended pending investigation in August 2021 after several misconduct allegations were made against him in a petition submitted to the city by 11 co-workers.
Dalton was accused of creating a hostile work environment by engaging in acts of sexual harassment and verbal abuse and threats towards co-workers, including the use of ethnic slurs and other offensive remarks and gestures.
In October of that year, former Mayor Dave Johnson and former Police Chief Joe Adams issued a recommendation of termination citing violations of WPD rules and regulations, provisions of the city’s personnel policy manual and other violations of law.
A hearing board upheld the recommendation. Dalton requested a review of the decision before the Westover Civil Service commission, which heard four days of testimony between Feb. 20 and May 8, 2023, before affirming the firing.
Among its findings, the commission stated Dalton “engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior during his tenure with the Westover Police Department dating from incidents in 2016 through his placement on administrative leave …”
The three-member commission also found that Dalton violated city policy and hurt the public trust in the police department through false statements shared on social media.
Dalton appealed the commission’s order in Monongalia County Circuit Court, which denied the administrative appeal on Feb. 26, 2025, noting, “the Commission’s decision was not clearly wrong, arbitrary, or capricious, and that the Commission’s ruling was plausible in light of the entire record.”
The circuit court’s ruling was then appealed to the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia, which backed the lower court in December, writing, “Mr. Dalton’s termination has been upheld at every stage of his civil service proceeding. Moreover, we note that Mr. Dalton cites no authority to support his position; instead, he attempts to establish error through supposition and conjecture.”
Stranko told Westover City Council he doesn’t foresee the WV Supreme Court review ending any differently.
“We don’t know that there are any new issues that are to be raised. My supposition is Mr. Dalton’s counsel is just going to argue an error of law. I don’t really see a viable appeal, but we’ll go through the process,” he said, explaining Dalton’s brief is due to the court by May 6.
A separate lawsuit filed by Dalton against the city in 2021 claiming his legally protected employment rights were willfully and unlawfully denied by the elected members of Westover City Council was dismissed by the Monongalia County Circuit Court and is currently on appeal before the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
