MCCALL, Idaho McCall s fired police chief is now firing back with a lawsuit.
Less than a month after being terminated by the city, Jerry Summers is now suing the city, the city manager, the mayor, and the council - alleging more than a dozen claims in this lawsuit, including wrongful termination.
When the McCall City Council voted unanimously to terminate Police Chief Jerry Summers earlier this month his attorney told KTVB it was in retaliation, but didn't go into detail.
Now, in a lawsuit filed in federal court, his case is spelled out.
For months Summers says the recently appointed City Manager Gene Drabinski lied to the council to get them to vote for his firing.
In the court papers, Summers claim is that he didn't support Drabinski politically so the city manager began retaliating against [him], and further says Drabinski at one point squared off with Mr. Summers and moved in an aggressive and threatening manner toward Mr. Summers.
Other allegations involve bribery, bullying and failure of the city to investigate Summers' complaints about the city manager.
As it's laid out in the complaint, like it says, he reported the retaliation several times, and as far as he's aware...they did nothing to protect him from further retaliation, said Matt Williams, Summers' attorney,
Drabinski had not heard about the lawsuit until we called him, and at the advice of attorneys, wouldn't respond to specific allegations.
I have my entire lifetime, entire career as a track record, and I'll let that track record defend me, said Drabinski.
The City of McCall has yet to be served with the papers, or respond formally to the complaint and request for a trial.
In the lawsuit, amongst things Summers is asking for is to be reinstated, and if he's not reinstated, to be paid for what he would have made in the future.
Regardless of the lawsuit and recent controversy, Drabinski says he is confident in how the city and police force are moving ahead, and says he and the acting chief are working on public perception and department efficiency.
