TUSCUMBIA — Attorneys for fired Muscle Shoals Police officer Greg Scoggins have appealed a Civil Service Board’s decision to uphold the termination to Colbert County Circuit Court.

“This is the next step in fighting to get our client’s job back,” said Tuscumbia attorney Billy Underwood, who along with Johnnie Franks, of Florence, are representing Scoggins.

Scoggins was terminated Dec. 27, four days after he was accused of shooting a deer on Tennessee Valley Authority property while on duty.

Muscle Shoals Mayor David Bradford upheld the termination and Scoggins appealed that decision to the city’s Civil Service Board.

Last week, the Civil Service Board unanimously upheld the termination.

Underwood and Franks said after the hearing that they would appeal the decision.

“This isn’t a surprise,” Muscle Shoals city attorney Marcel Black said after learning the appeal had been filed. “I had been expecting it.”

In the appeal, Underwood points to grounds that he and Franks believe is sufficient to have the termination reversed: the Civil Service Board was prejudiced against Scoggins and refused to hear evidence to show to that; the board acted in excess of its authority; it went into executive session and voted in violation of the Alabama Open Records Act; statements made by a witness were false and Scoggins cannot be convicted of possession of a firearm because there are two different rules followed by the Police Department and the Civil Service Board in regards to a firearms’ policy.

Underwood, in the appeal, asks the court to “dismiss” certain accusations and “return” the other accusations for a new trial where evidence can be presented to show “selected prosecution, failure of the Civil Service Board to treat his penalty in regards to other penalties” issued by other department heads and failure of the Civil Service Board to hear testimony of what appeared to be “their prejudice and bias against Scoggins” before the hearing.

A date for the hearing has not been scheduled.

Tom Smith can be reached at 256-740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.