The mudslinging continues between former police chief Paul Prine and city officials, but this time, it's in court.
Prine's team filed a motion to continue a hearing on the defendants' requests to dismiss the case. He is asking for the hearing to be pushed back seven days so his counsel has time to prepare a response to the defendants' motions.
The 12 defendants are Mayor Sandy Stimpson, Stimpson chief of staff James Barber, public safety director Rob Lasky, Councilmen CJ Small, Joel Daves, Cory Penn, William Carroll, Ben Reynolds, former U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown, the Thompson Coburn law firm, Powers Consulting Group and former FBI agent Tyrone Powers.
Prine alleges city officials conspired to oust him, even setting up an investigation into the police department's policies and procedures to accomplish their goal. The lawsuit called Brown's investigation a "witch hunt" and "hit piece" against Prine to cause irreparable damage to his character and to support his termination.
Prine and Stimpson went public with claims against each other after Prine was put on administrative leave.
The defendants filed separate motions to be dismissed, making several claims. Court documents requesting the dismissal of claims on behalf of Stimpson, Barber and Lasky claim Prine's allegations are "baseless" and that Prine only made allegations to get a more lucrative severance package.
In the latest filing, Prine's team fired back, stating, "Plaintiff's counsel believe that Defendants' motions are meritless and contain factual and legal inaccuracies, which take longer to research and to respond to."
The hearing is scheduled for March 14.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning or become a member to gain access to exclusive content and 1819 News merch.
