Afghanistan

Suburban Cop Was Wrongly Fired While Deployed in Afghanistan: Attorney

Tinessa Moss says her husband Devon served as a police officer in Melrose Park for 13 years. But that all came to an end last year, just days after her husband had been deployed to Afghanistan to serve with the National Guard.

“They said that they terminated him, so it was like no health insurance, no check coming in, nothing,” Tinessa Moss said. "It’s just making me upset that he’s going through all of this while he is over in Afghanistan."

Devon has filed a lawsuit against the village’s board of fire and police commissioners asking them to reverse their decision. The board requested Devon’s termination because the village says he never lived in Melrose Park during his tenure as a police officer, which is required by village ordinance.

Devon Moss's attorney, Kelly Krauchun, says her client had been deployed to Afghanistan back in 2012 and received his full police pay--even though he did not have a residence in Melrose Park at that time.

“It was just rather suspect, the timing of everything,” Krauchun said. “(It's) very clear here that there was something wrong."

Before his hiring, the village says Moss promised to move to Melrose Park but never did. The village also says Moss testified under oath during an internal hearing saying he was not a resident.

Tinessa Moss wants the firing overturned, so her husband can find a job at a different police department "who would really appreciate his service."

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