Former Ashland officer sues city, claims wrongful firing after reporting chief to administrator

Editor's note: Information from a pair of Wednesday statements from City Administrator Kyle Michel has been added to this article.

ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Ashland police officer filed a lawsuit against the city on Monday, claiming he was wrongfully terminated from his position.

Former officer Tom Whitener claims in the lawsuit that he was fired after reporting the alleged misconduct of Chief Gabe Edwards and claiming the firing violates the law enforcement bill of rights.

Edwards was placed on administrative leave on Monday, July 17. According to the lawsuit, Edwards was placed on leave three days after Whitener and another unnamed employee reported Edwards’ alleged behavior.

The lawsuit claims that city staff received an email on the day Edwards was placed on leave, citing a “personnel matter.”

Scott Young was sworn in as the interim chief on July 27. On Aug. 29, the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control stated it had an active investigation involving Edwards.

Court documents state Whitener was the department’s firearms instructor, defense tactics instructor, narcotics investigator, field training officer and interim sergeant. He worked for APD from September 2020-August 2023.

The lawsuit states Whitener reported that Edwards had listed his wife and another one of his friends on the Ashland Police Department roster submitted to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Program, despite neither being employed by the City of Ashland. Documents allege the pair were included on the roster so they could concealed-carry a gun.

Court documents also allege that Edwards accessed restricted information through the Criminal Justice Information System “without a law enforcement purpose” and then leaked the information publicly under a second, anonymous Facebook account.

The lawsuit also claims Edwards used racial slurs towards Black employees and allegedly offered someone nude photos of an employee’s significant other.

Court documents state Whitener attempted to quit on June 22, but Edwards refused to accept the resignation. During a meeting about issues Whitener claimed to have with Edwards, Edwards said he held up projects “out of spite,” according to documents.

Whitener was placed on administrative leave “pending a psych evaluation,” but was never scheduled an exam, according to documents. Whitener allegedly received a voicemail from City Administrator Kyle Michel on Aug. 8 to pick up his final paycheck.

Whitener's attorney, Andy Hirth told ABC 17 News that under Missouri law, there is a procedure the city must follow before firing an officer. According to Hirth, Whitener was entitled to a hearing where witnesses are sworn in, the right to cross examine those witnesses and the right to appeal a case.

"If the city had some grounds that they believe Tom should be fired, they certainly didn't share that with anybody or with him," Hirth said. "If they had evidence to suggest that he shouldn't be employed, they could have presented it at his hearing."

Court documents claim that when Whitener arrived at City Hall, the human resources manager asked him to sign a letter of resignation. Whitener said he didn’t resign and was allegedly told he would be fired if he refused to sign the letter, according to the lawsuit. He was then allegedly told he was no longer employed by the city.

"He said, 'I didn't resign. I'm not going to do that.' And they said, 'If you don't resign, we're going to have to fire you," Hirth said. "And he said well you're going to have to fire me because I'm not resigning."

Hirth said the sheriff served the city with the petition within the next week. A summons was issued to the city on Tuesday, according to Casenet.

From there, the city will have 30 days to respond. Hirth said since the city has not yet made it clear if Edwards will be reinstated as chief, it could be difficult to work it out if both were to get their jobs back.

"At a minimum, Tom wants his job back and you know to be compensated for the time he's been out of work," Hirth said. "So what happens is largely up to the city at this point."

Michel wrote in a Wednesday statement that the city is aware of the lawsuit.

"The lawsuit alleges that Whitener was fired from employment of the City. Whitener resigned from the Police Department with a final date of pay being 8/11/2023. The lawsuit alleges that Whitener is a whistleblower and is therefore entitled to certain protections," the statement says. "The City has no record of any grievances filed by Whitener against any current or former employee of the City."

In a second statement, Michel confirmed that Edwards is still on administrative leave and that his salary was reduced by 50% to $18.24 per hour by the Board of Aldermen. The release states Edwards will be on leave until at least the end of MSHP's investigation.