BOSTON – A federal judge last week denied requests by several current and former Ashland Police officers to dismiss civil rights complaints brought against them by former Sgt. Edward Pomponio.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani did dismiss all complaints against former Ashland Officer James Driscoll, and she dismissed all of the complaints, except one, brought by Pomponio’s wife Paula.

Ashland Police Lt. Richard Briggs, Sgt. Gregory Fawkes and Officer Michael Dionne, along with former officers Robert MacQuarrie and Allena Downey, had asked the judge to dismiss Pomponio’s federal and state civil rights violation claims.

They argued the claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress did not meet the legal standard, they were immune from negligence claims under state law, and there is no claim of defamation to support Pomponio's charges.

The town fired Pomponio in 2014 after he had been on administrative leave for a year. He is suing for wrongful termination.

In December 2013, the Middlesex district attorney charged Pomponio with wanton destruction of property, obstruction of justice and intimidation of a witness.

The charges stem from Pomponio being accused of intentionally destroying seized drugs from a 2011 arrest by then-Officer Driscoll. Pomponio is also accused of trying to intimidate Driscoll.

Pomponio, in his complaint, said his freedom of speech was violated by the other officers who harassed him after he reported sexual harassment within the department. The officers argued that, as a public employee at the time, Pomponio’s speech was not protected.

In her ruling, Talwani said just because Pomponio was a public employee, not everything he said was in his role as a public employee.

“Taking all of Pomponio’s allegations as true, defendants can put forth no adequate justification for retaliating against an employee who reports sexual harassment,” Talwani wrote. “For the purpose of these motions, Pomponio has shown that he engaged in constitutionally protected speech against which [the] defendants retaliated.”

The judge also ruled against the officers’ claims they were entitled to “qualified immunity” because they were acting in their roles as police. The judge said it was too early in the process of the case to evaluate that claim.

Pomponio said the harassment – name-calling and intimidation – was intentional infliction of emotional distress. Talwani allowed the charge to go forward, but did not see much of a chance of success.

“Pomponio will face an uphill battle if he can’t muster evidence to support the truth of his allegations or the level of maliciousness allegedly displayed by the defendants,” the judge wrote. “But at this stage, the intentional infliction claim may proceed."

The judge rejected the officers’ claims they were immune to a charge of negligent infliction of emotional distress because they were acting in their roles as police officers when they took part in writing a union complaint.

“Although defendants identified themselves as employees of the Police Department in the union complaint, they were not engaging in conduct that they were hired to perform as police officers. Additionally, they were allegedly motivated by a purpose to embarrass and injure Pomponio and Chief Scott Rohmer, not to serve their employer,” the judge wrote.

The officers also argued that Pomponio's case was based on the complaint the police union filed against him and then-chief Rohmer. They argued Pomponio's lawsuit was a “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” arguing that it was trying to intimidate the officers from participating in a union vote.

Talwani dismissed the officers' claim because it would have to be brought forward through a special motion.

The judge also ruled a count of defamation could go forward, but dismissed a count of "tortious interference," which occurs when a person intentionally damages a plaintiff's contractual or other business relationships.

In a separate complaint, Pomponio alleged assault and battery against Fawkes, who he said ripped a paper from Pomponio's hands as he was reading a complaint against Fawkes. Talwani allowed that count to go forward.

Talwani dismissed all counts filed by Paula Pomponio except for loss of consortium.

Edward Pomponio's lawyer, Vikas Dhar, said he is happy the case is going forward.

“We feel confident in seeking relief for Mr. Pomponio, and we are hoping that the town of Ashland and the Ashland Police Department live up to the high moral standards that the community has set for them for many decades in recognizing the harm inflicted upon Mr. Pomponio,” Dhar said.

The case is due back in federal court on Oct. 11.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date crime news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW.