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player ready...A retired Crown Point police officer twice injured in the line of duty is suing the city over claims of discriminatory practices in the administration of the Police Department Records Division where he previously worked.
Charles Sprague recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Hammond in which he makes a number of allegations against the city and various staff involving workplace harassment by fellow employees, unfair internal hiring practices and accommodations over his disability.
Attorney Alexander Kutanovski, who is representing the city in the case, said he could not comment on pending litigation.
Sprague had two back surgeries stemming from an on-duty vehicle accident in 2004 in which he was found not at fault, according to the lawsuit. He then underwent spinal fusion surgery in 2010 after his police dog suddenly jerked hard on the leash and he reinjured the same two vertebrae.
He worked as a police officer until April 2013 when he retired with a medical disability, and was then hired into in a dual part-time position as an investigative support specialist and general service officer.
The lawsuit claims Police Chief Peter Land informed Sprague on May 8, 2014 he would not receive an interview for the full-time general service officer position for which he had applied. Believing a lesser qualified candidate was hired over him, Sprague filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Sprague also claims he was passed over for the newly created records supervisor position in September 2015, noting that he did not learn of the position until the job was already appointed. He alleges workplace harassment in claiming Chief Land would refer to him as “she” or “lady” because positions in records were traditionally filled by women, and that complaints to his supervisor about this “sexual harassment” went unheeded.
“That’s not how an injured officer should be treated and stereotyped by his chief because just he’s doing administrative work,” said Sprague’s attorney, Sam Adams of Indianapolis.
The lawsuit states that Land falsely accused Sprague of secretly recording conversations between police officers, and when word got out other officers and civilian employees treated him coldly, refused to talk with him and avoided working with him. Sprague alleges other employees retaliated against him by refusing to promote him, altering his work schedule, eliminating his ability to earn overtime and ostracizing him in the workplace.
Sprague’s lawsuit includes a “Failure to Hire” complaint contrary to the American’s with Disabilities Act and sexual harassment statutes.
“We brought this case because after he retired as a sworn officer he wanted to stay in the police department and working as a general service officer was a close as he could come to being a police officer,” Adams said.
Sprague declined comment. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages, lost wages and Sprague’s hiring as a general service officer with the city of Crown Point.
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.