Greenwich 'Signgate' Lawsuit Moves Ahead With Jury Selection

GREENWICH, CT — Jury selection was scheduled to take place Tuesday in the civil case involving former Greenwich Police Capt. Mark Kordick and the town of Greenwich, according to court documents. The scheduled court dates show jury selection continuing through Sept. 1.

Kordick, a Democrat, was ultimately fired from the Greenwich Police Department in April 2020 after he admitted to paying for and installing fake political signs around town just prior to the 2019 election. Kordick had been a member of the GPD for 32 years.

The signs encouraged residents to "Vote Republican. Vote Team Trump/Camillo" and to "Make Greenwich Great Again," and linked First Selectman Fred Camillo, a Republican candidate at the time, to now former President Donald Trump.

Kordick filed a lawsuit against Greenwich in June 2020 claiming he was retaliated against for exercising his "constitutionally protected right to engage in off-duty political speech."

The lawsuit claimed Kordick, "like many others, perceived that highlighting Fred Camillo's prior support of Trump and steady avoidance of association with the incumbent President in his campaign were potentially powerful issues to raise against Fred Camillo in the campaign."

Last month, Kordick filed an "offer of compromise" to settle his lawsuit against Greenwich for $675,000.

The town has not taken any action on the offer.

According to court documents filed on Aug. 22 on behalf of the town, Greenwich, the defendant, "contends that the plaintiff's activities at issue in this case were not constitutionally protected rights guaranteed under the First Amendment," and that Kordick "cannot prove that his employment was terminated because he exercised any such rights."

Several town employees and police officers could be called to testify as witnesses when the jury trial begins, the documents show.

Barring a settlement, the trial will commence on Sept. 21, court documents filed on Aug. 23 said.