Britt police chief fired after lawsuit accusing mayor of sexual harassment
The chief of police in Brit, was fired Thursday, weeks after filing a lawsuit accusing leaders of the north Iowa city of a longstanding pattern of same-sex sexual harassment, in what his attorney called a "shameless" act of illegal retaliation.
Chief Mark Anderson filed his lawsuit May 12, alleging that Mayor Ryan Arndorfer and Council Member Chad Luecht had for years subjected him to graphic sexual harassment and demands through an online group chat. All three men are gay, and Arndorfer and Luecht sent sexual messages, videos and photos, pressured him for nude photos of himself and his husband, and mocked him when he told them he was uncomfortable, Anderson's suit alleges.
Luecht later stopped his harassment after Anderson asked another council member to intercede, but Arndorfer continued, according to the complaint. Anderson also alleges the officials retaliated against him for pushing back against the sexual messages by shrinking his raises and criticizing his leadership of the police department.
Arndorfer and Luecht denied the allegations through their attorney, Michele Brott.
The Register reported on the lawsuit June 1, and a week later on Thursday, Anderson was fired after a closed three-hour session of the City Council. The firing was first reported by the Globe Gazette of Mason City. Neither Luecht, who resigned earlier this year, nor Arndorfer was present.
The vote to terminate Anderson was unanimous. After the meeting, Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Curt Gast declined to give the Globe Gazette a reason for Anderson's termination, saying it was a confidential employee matter.
Anderson's attorney says firing based on pretext complaints
Prior to Thursday's meeting, Anderson's attorney, Madison Fiedler Carlson, said Anderson had not been informed of his pending termination, and that firing him could give rise to further retaliation claims. After the meeting, she told the Register the termination "appears to be shameless additional retaliation."
"The timing is extraordinarily suspicious. The Council fired Mark just three days after the city filed its answer to Mark’s lawsuit alleging that Mayor Arndorfer and others violated his civil rights by sexually harassing and retaliating against him," Carlson said in an email.
According to Fiedler, during Thursday's meeting, the council "confronted (Anderson) with concerns about incidents that they had known about for months and, in some cases, even years ... although no one had thought it necessary to reprimand Mark about the incidents at the time." She said Anderson directly addressed the council's concerns before it voted unanimously to fire him.
Fiedler said Anderson is "devastated" at the loss of his job but appreciates support he has received from the community, and intends to continue his legal battle.
"Citizens are entitled to expect better from public officials who are tasked with using our tax dollars wisely and for legitimate purposes," she said. "No one should have to endure a work environment where they are sexually propositioned and asked for nude photographs or where they are punished for reporting it."
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Britt police chief dismissed after filing sex harassment suit
