Taylor Six – Lexington Herald-Leader
A former Boyle County Fire Department official and his wife are suing the county fire chief, fire department and fire board after they say the former official was fired as part of a retaliatory conspiracy.
James Coffman, the former assistant fire chief, filed suit Nov. 22 in Boyle Circuit Court. He claims Fire Chief Donald Sexton, as well as the department and the board, are guilty of age discrimination, unlawful retaliation, negligence, defamation and a civil conspiracy that resulted in Coffman being reassigned and eventually fired.
Chief Sexton was not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Coffman has worked in fire service for 35 years, according to the suit. He rose through the ranks of the both the Danville City Fire Department and the Boyle County Fire Department, and he served as a representative on the county department’s board.
During that time, he was on the hiring committee that tapped Sexton to serve as fire chief. Soon after his hiring, Sexton asked Coffman to serve as assistant chief. Coffman accepted the offer and resigned from the fire board.
But things took a turn, Coffman claims, as Sexton engaged in a pattern of retaliating against firefighters, employees and board members who questioned his spending or authority.
Sexton eventually began to withhold “vital” information about department functions from Coffman, according to the suit.
In April of this year, Sexton filed a complaint to the fire board alleging that Coffman had violated the department’s purchasing policy. Coffman argued the complaint is a “compilation of personal vendettas” with unsupported and unsubstantiated claims.
In the complaint, Sexton alleges that Coffman’s wife, Karen Coffman, who owns an embroidery business, was given preferential treatment when she was awarded a bid to make firefighter appreciation clothing for the department. But Coffman’s wife made the lowest bid, the suit alleges.
Sexton then reassigned Coffman, which limited his time spent with his colleagues. In October, Coffman and Sexton met at the fire department for a routine meeting, and Coffman was informed he was being fired despite having no verbal or written reprimands in his 35 years of service.
Coffman was informed that the decision to terminate him was a result of “restructuring” in the fire department. His department-issued vehicle was taken, and his work phone was cut off an hour later, according to the suit.
The fire department board of trustees did not authorize the reconstruction of the agency, according to the suit. Coffman claims the entity allowed the violations to occur within the department.
The Coffmans are seeking punitive damages and an award of attorney fees.
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