Judge Awards 100k Compensation after Town Hall Failings

A judge in Elche has condemned Torrevieja town hall to pay 95,816 euro from public money to a Local Police officer for psychological and moral damages caused by the previous government, run by the Partido Popular and mayoral contestant Eduardo Dolón, failing to prevent “years” of harassment in the workplace.

The 38-year-old officer was forced to transfer to another town as a result of the abuse, and so, having not had his case dealt with by the current Vice President of the Provincial Government, Eduardo Dolón, who lost the elections in Torrevieja for his party, was forced to file a complaint with the courts.

The court upheld the complaint, stating that the town hall, then under the PP rule, failed to even recognise the existence of workplace harassment, nor the transfer of the officer, for which damages of nearly a quarter of a million were modified to just under 96 thousand, based on the confirmed medical reports accompanying the case.

The judge acknowledges that the council, at the time under the control of Eduardo Dolón, “despite being aware of the facts”, acted with “carelessness and absolute neglect” at the time. The court also acknowledges that the evidence provided by the officer, who began working for Torrevieja Local Police in 2010, proves how the town hall were warned from the beginning of “administrative irregularities” consisting of a lack of control of cash for fines or systematic inspections in certain locations.

When the officer complained about the apparent and potentially fraudulent activity that went all the way to the top of the police chain, he began to suffer “irregularities” such as shift changes without warning, denial of holidays, imposed shifts, personal insults and other abuse, none of which were dealt with by the most senior of management, Eduardo Dolón.

The public must now fund that abuse and neglect and, although the officer has been correctly compensated through the courts, this is the latest case to come to light against Eduardo Dolón, who recently tried to oust the current mayor, José Manual Dolón, and is set to try to return as the head of the PP, and obtain the post of mayor once again in the next elections in the early part of next year.