Former police officer suing the Town of Jackson for wrongful termination

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — A former Jackson Police officer who says he was forced to resign is suing the Town of Jackson for more than a million dollars.

Attorneys for Lt. Roger Schultz, who served 23 years on the Jackson Police Department, filed the lawsuit contending that Schultz was “forced to resign from the Jackson Police Department involuntarily and against his will, and without being afforded the appropriate or required process and procedure as mandated by the Town of Jackson’s and the Jackson Police Department’s own written policies and procedures concerning termination of employees.”

Schultz tendered his resignation August 21, 2020 after an insensitive blotter post on Facebook went viral. The fallout over the post reached local headline heights during a nationwide climate of #MeToo movement combined with a ‘defund the police’ rallying cry connected with George Floyd protests, and Act Now JH pot stirring.

Timeline and background

As part of Lt. Schultz’s duties with the department he authored a community information and outreach blotter which highlighted various calls responded to by JPD. Schultz’ offered a jocular and informal style meant to humanize police officers and their duties.

On one such occasion, Schultz published a blotter post related to a call to investigate a possible sexual relationship between an over 18-year old and an individual who was not 18. Upon investigation, it was found no crime had occurred. In reporting the incident, however, Schultz published the following report:

“On August 13, 2020, at 12:26 p.m., we responded to a report of an underage female having sex with an adult. We will be investigating the case to determine if a crime has been committed and if we can prove that crime. You would think having sex with an underage juvenile would always be a crime. Not necessarily. There are a number of factors involved in deciding whether to file charges to include the age of those involved. Fortunately, determining the age difference of those involved doesn’t involve complex math, so we should be able to figure it out without too much trouble. Just as long as we have coffee and donuts (the ones with the little sprinkles on top) to get us through.”

Schultz and his attorney—Kevin Gregory of Lubing, Gregory and Rectanus—contend the remarks were a brand of self-deprecating humor, poking fun at cops’ stereotypical love of donuts. Cancel culture activists didn’t see it that way.

In the ensuing hullabaloo, town manager Larry Pardee first had Sgt. Weber issue Schultz a verbal reprimand on August 18, 2020, according to the filing.

The following day, Schultz began to fear for his job after the News&Guide published an article eliciting “very negative” feedback from the public. Schultz also contends Sgt. Weber told him town officials were not satisfied with his public apology. As a result, Sgt. Weber retracted the publication of the apology.

Then on August 20, 2020, Pardee issued a public apology on behalf of the town. Lawyers for Schultz argue Pardee’s “Letter to Constituents” baselessly accused Schultz of irreverently joking about sex with a minor.

“This is a blatant misrepresentation of the self-deprecating nature of Plaintiff Schultz’s blotter post and only served to further inflame the public response to this controversy. A reasonable reading of the subject post reveals that Plaintiff Schultz was only commenting on a police officer’s ability to do high math and their stereotyped affinity for coffee and donuts,” the filing states.

Finally, on August 21, 2020, acting interim Chief Weber allegedly demanded Schultz’ resignation from the police department or Pardee would fire him. At one point, waiting to hear whether Schultz had resigned, Pardee reported said, “Why is this not done yet?”

Seeking damages

Schultz’ attorneys say their client was “given no alternative choices or options other than to immediately resign. [He] was not given the opportunity to consult with legal counsel, was not given the opportunity to ask questions or understand the choice he was presented with, was not given a reasonable amount of time in which to make a decision concerning his resignation, and was not permitted to select the effective date of his resignation.”

The filing continues, “Based upon the above facts, Plaintiff Schultz’s forced resignation amounts to a constructive discharge and forced, compulsory termination by the Town of Jackson.”

Schultz is seeking nearly $200,000 in lost wages, approximately $288,363 in lost benefits, and at least $500,000 in “embarrassment, stigmatization, ostracism, emotional harm, reputational harm and other non-economic damages.”

The town has not yet responded to the allegations but will presumably hand off the legal work to its state liability pool.