Former Cole County Sheriff’s deputy suing the county for alleged racial discrimination

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Cole County Sheriff's deputy is suing Cole County for alleged racial discrimination.

David Barrett is accusing the department of violating his rights after he says he was fired because of his race. Barrett believes he was fired shortly after his co-workers learned he was bi-racial.

Court documents say Barrett had been a deputy since 2006 when he was let go in February 2021.

Barrett was told he was terminated due to “incompetence,” “dissatisfaction” that had been building for the last two years, “loss of trust,” and finally “abuse of authority" but he was never disciplined for any of these prior to termination, according to court documents.

Barrett says those reasons were mentioned only after he was terminated.

Barrett is requesting a jury trial to be held.

Barrett is represented by Nimrod Chapel Jr., who is the president of the Missouri NAACP.

ABC 17 News reached out to Sheriff John Wheeler who told us he would not comment as legal proceedings are ongoing.