Newtown police chief's lawsuit: Mayor has 'vendetta' threatening job, reputation
Newtown's police chief is suing the village and its mayor, alleging a years-long "vendetta" targeting the chief, his reputation and his career, according to a complaint filed Friday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
Mayor Mark Kobasuk has engaged in "relentless harassment, bullying, retaliation and defamation" against Chief Tom Synan as punishment for the chief's refusal to permit conduct he believed was illegal and reported to the village council, the lawsuit says.
"I am extremely disappointed that Chief Synan has decided to take this unnecessary and unwarranted course of action. The Village Council and I have done nothing more than ask Chief Synan to be accountable, present, and act in the best interests of Newtown," Kobasuk said in a written statement. "The claims he has asserted in this lawsuit are frivolous and without merit, and we intend to defend them vigorously in Court."
Synan issued a statement and referred questions to his attorneys when reached by The Enquirer.
It all began with a September 2016 private meeting, the lawsuit says, during which Kobasuk asked the chief to "go along with" timesheet policy changes because he wanted to set up a specific employee for timesheet fraud.
Kobasuk wanted to use the threat of a felony charge to knock the employee down to a part-time schedule, a plan the chief stated he was uncomfortable with, according to the suit.
Synan said in his suit that he reported his concerns to council members and thus ensued an eight-year-long feud, which has culminated in Kobasuk now trying to force Synan to resign or be removed from office.
A few months after that 2016 meeting, Kobasuk told Synan he would be placed on a disciplinary action plan, adding that he expected to have a tight reign on his police chief, the lawsuit states.
The action plan included removing Synan, a nationally renowned figure in the fight against the opioid crisis, from participating in any activities that would take him from his normal duties.
Synan then met with the chief of another police department in Hamilton County, who relayed to Synan that Kobasuk was investigating him for misuse of funds and of a police cruiser, the suit states.
Even after the mayor apologized to Synan saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing and the chief was not under investigation, the suit states, Kobasuk accused Synan of having a "morale problem" within his department.
However, tensions calmed for a few years until 2022 when new council members were sworn in.
Believing no one was left to stand up for Synan, Kobasuk continued his campaign of harassment, the lawsuit states, specifically after officers complained of the mayor creating a hostile work environment and expressed their concerns to the council.
Kobasuk reprimanded Synan in part over statements the chief and his officers made to council members, as well as for his "alleged dishonesty," according to the suit. Synan was denied the ability to appeal.
The lawsuit says Kobasuk singled out the chief by requiring Synan to give a detailed timeline of his daily activities and that the mayor has made new accusations of Synan stealing time from the village.
Synan also alleged in his suit that the mayor and village council have held secret deliberations over Kobasuk's desire to discipline the chief and force him out of office. The chief came away from a February meeting with Kobasuk believing his firing to be imminent.
"I am saddened and disturbed that one person’s personal agenda based on ego and power is damaging the work I and the officers do," Synan said in a written statement. "It has been my and the officers’ resiliency and determination to serve others that has given me solace that our department has minimized the day-to-day impact on our community."
Synan is asking the court to:
Invalidate any decisions or formal action resulting from secret meetings, and issue an injunction prohibiting the village council and their successors in office from conducting secret meetings or otherwise violating Ohio’s Open Meetings Act.
Award penalties, forfeitures and compensatory damages over $25,000 plus interest and costs.
Issue an injunction requiring defendants to publicly retract their false and defamatory statements and cease and desist their alleged illegal adverse employment actions.
Award punitive damages, interest, costs, attorney fees; and any other relief to which Synan may be entitled.
Court records do not list when Synan's case will go before a judge. He's asking for a trial by jury.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Newtown police chief: Mayor has 'vendetta' threatening job, reputation
