By Bill McCleery
Indianapolis Star
GREENFIELD, Ind. — A police officer claims in a federal lawsuit that Greenfield Police Chief Clarke Mercer has treated him unfairly based on the officer’s political beliefs and caused him emotional distress.
In the suit, officer Anthony Neumeister claims that because he expressed support for a mayoral candidate critical of Mercer, the chief knowingly assigned him to a shift in which his supervisor would have been a man who had an affair with Neumeister’s then-wife. Though the shift change was never implemented, that particular night shift was one Neumeister had not requested when submitting requests that are granted based on seniority, the suit alleges.
The shift change was announced after Neumeister expressed support for local businessman Brad DeReamer in the Republican mayoral primary, the suit claims. DeReamer, who won the primary, has said that as mayor he would remove Mercer as chief.
Mercer on Thursday denied Neumeister’s claims that he planned to move him to another shift because of his support for DeReamer. He said the proposal to switch Neumeister to a night shift was an error that was corrected before he ever reported for night duty. The March 6 announcement to move Neumeister came as part of an overall effort in the department to match officers to shifts they preferred based on seniority, Mercer said.
Neumeister, a six-year employee of the Greenfield Police Department said he is eager to elaborate on his grievances.
“I, too, look forward to my day in court,” Neumeister said today. “We’ll let the attorneys figure it out. I’m quite confident in my case. I have a strong case and I’ll prove I have a strong case. Other than that, I can’t comment on anything else.”
Mercer said he has authority to place officers on whatever shifts he wants but tries to accommodate officers’ preferences. He gives weight to officers’ rank and seniority in deciding who gets their top requests, he said.
In the lawsuit, filed July 18, Neumeister also claims that because of his political beliefs Mercer gave him excessive punishment on several occasions, including taking away his take-home car privileges for 30 days after a car accident in which Neumeister was found at fault. Other officers in similar situations in the past had not received as long as a suspension of the privilege, Neumeister said.
The chief said the penalty was decided by a peer review panel.
“Political considerations have not been a factor in any discipline given to anybody on the Greenfield Police Department at any time whatsoever,” Mercer said.
Mercer said one stipulation in the lawsuit left him especially puzzled. In the suit, Neumeister’s attorney asks that Mercer be prohibited from discriminating against Neumeister on the basis of race. Both Mercer and Neumeister are white.
The city of Greenfield and Mayor Rodney Fleming are also named as defendants in the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.