Jack Brophy, Peabody Fire Dispatcher Who Won Settlement, Dies

PEABODY, MA — Jack Brophy, the former Peabody Fire Department dispatcher who reached a wrongful termination settlement with the city last year, died on April 27, according to a Facebook post by Peabody Firefighters Local 925. Brophy's son, John, is an active Peabody firefighter.

Last year, the City of Peabody agreed to pay Brophy $250,000 to settle a wrongful termination claim. Brophy was fired in 2005 after sleeping through a 911 call from the parents of a 6-month-old baby who had stopped breathing. The child survived and an arbitrator ruled the penalty had been too harsh. The city lost an appeal in 2008, but Brophy never returned to work.

Brophy, who had sought as much as $1.5 million, continued to work as a plumber and let the case go dormant until 2014. That was when his attorney filed an order to push the city to abide by the arbitrator's decision. That case was supposed to have opened in December 2017, but the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement.

Visiting hours for Jack Brophy are Wednesday, May 8, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Murphy Funeral Home in Salem. The funeral service is Thursday, May 9, at 10 a.m. at St. Ann Parish in Peabody.