HIV disclosure claim costs Rockland $3,000

ROCKLAND – City councilors settled a potential lawsuit on Wednesday, voting to pay $3,000 to a “John Doe” because a former Rockland police officer allegedly disclosed the man’s HIV status after his arrest in December 2000.

John Doe claimed that after his Dec. 1, 2000, arrest for operating under the influence of intoxicants, the unidentified officer told one of Doe’s co-workers about his medical condition, word spread around his place of employment, and he was forced to take stress leave. Doe is infected with HIV and hepatitis, according to a Maine Human Rights Commission report.

City Attorney Greg Dorr on Friday confirmed the council’s vote, but refused to identify the police officer who is accused of breaching the confidential medical information. The attorney also refused to release John Doe’s name.

The officer resigned shortly after a human rights complaint was filed by Doe on Feb. 13, 2001, according to the MHRC investigator’s report.

According to Dorr, the release of Doe’s real name could result in a violation of the Medical Disclosure Act. Providing the name of the officer could lead to the discovery of the claimant’s name, he said.

In March 2001, the city received a notice of claim from Doe alleging he was subjected to unlawful discrimination because of the officer’s disclosure.

The Maine Human Rights Commission ruled that there are no reasonable grounds to believe the city unlawfully discriminated against Doe on the basis of disability in violation of the Maine Human Rights Act. The complaint was dismissed.

“Even if an improper disclosure occurred, this does not violate the Maine Human Rights Act,” according to the investigator’s report. “If any violation of the MHRA occurred, Mr. Doe’s employer is liable, not the city of Rockland.”

Dorr, who also refused to provide a copy of the notice of claim to the city, said the settlement cost the city less money than it would have spent on hiring an attorney to represent the former police officer.

The settlement releases the city from further claims, he said, and admits no wrongdoing on the part of the city or officer.