Lawsuit alleges wrongful termination of Knox County school security officers
Knox County TN Sept 13 2018
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court claims three former Knox County Schools employees were fired in retaliation for reporting actions by Knox County Schools Security Chief Gus Paidousis.
Daniel Stewart, Douglas Ryerkerk and William Kee claim they were fired from their positions as security captains in the Knox County School System after reporting inappropriate behavior by Paidousis.
According to the lawsuit, Stewart, Ryerkerk and Kee submitted a complaint about Paidousis to Scott Bolton, Knox County Schools’ director of benefits and human relations, on Dec. 14, 2015.
The complaint alleged Padousis made racially charged comments about several former employees, subjected a female employee to “sexual harassment and inappropriate comments from Chief Paidousis,” and installed cameras “in office areas specifically targeting employees who had spoken critically of Chief Paidousis.”
Stewart, Ryerkerk and Kee also said they were told by Paidousis “that the captains had better worry about their jobs for making complaints about him,” according to the lawsuit.
Following an investigation by Bolton, Stewart, Ryerkerk and Kee requested they be granted whistleblower status, which they were not granted, the lawsuit states.
Their bond cards, which allow the card holder to “exercise law enforcement powers,” were revoked by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
Stewart, Ryerkerk and Kee were placed on administrative leave on Jan. 6, 2016. The three were terminated on June 14, 2016, and “given the option to take another position in another area of the school system, retire, or have the terminations remain in effect,” according to the lawsuit.
The men’s lawyer, Dale Montpelier, could not immediately be reached for comment.
School system spokesman Carly Harrington said she is unable to comment on pending litigation.
The Knox County School Board went into closed session before its Wednesday meeting.
Harrington said she did not know the nature of Wednesday’s closed-door meeting. However, the public notice for the meeting noted the board would be discussing pending litigation.
A similar suit was filed in June 2017, but included another former employee, Davey Sanderson, who is not included in the lawsuit filed Wednesday. It was not immediately clear why he was not included in Wednesday’s filing or what came of the 2017 suit.
The three men have a combined total of 62 years working in the Knox County School system.
Stewart was a former Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy who, according to the lawsuit, began working for the school system in 1996 as a captain in the security division.
Ryerkerk retired as a sergeant from the Knoxville Police Department after 29 years, according to the lawsuit. He began working for the school system’s security division in 2008 as a captain, according to the suit.
Kee was a lieutenant in the Blount County Sheriff’s Department’s Reserve Unit and began working for the school system in 1982. He served as the interim head of security, a campus school security officer, and a transportation investigator and inspector as a captain, according to the lawsuit.
The men didn’t request a dollar amount for damages but asked for each to be reinstated to his former position or a comparable one at a comparable rate of pay, and that their benefits be reinstated as if they had not been fired.
They also requested back pay from the date of discharge and for lost benefits, among other things.
Knox News
