WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

CHARLESTON - Two former East Bank police officers, the former municipal clerk and the current police chief are alleging the town council played politics with their jobs.

Jess and Christy Inclenrock, James R. Carte Jr. and Steven W. Smith filed suit against the Town of East Bank on Sept. 8. In their complaints filed in Kanawha Circuit Court, all four allege that they were either fired or had their hours reduced in retaliation for criminal charges Smith pressed against a town official last year.

According to court records, all four allege that starting last year, various council members "began raising unsubstantiated complaints about the Police Department." Though the complaints aren't specified in court records, they believe the complaints were made to undermine the credibility of Mayor Charles A. Blair II who'd recently been re-elected.

The frothing animosity between the council and the police department boiled over on Sept. 3, 2008, when Smith, assisted by Carte, completed a criminal complaint against Town Recorder Bill Thompson. According the suits, Thompson was accused of retaliation against a police officer, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer "from his improper attempt to assist his next door neighbor who had been previously charged with a crime."

Records are not specific as to the identity of the neighbor, the charges filed or the manner in which Thompson attempted to assist him or her.

Upon learning he was going to be charged, Thompson approached Jess Inclenrock, the police chief, in town hall about the matter . Records show he brought with him council members Kenny Lavender, Bob Stone and Mickey Ramsey.

Since Thompson was a "potential criminal defendant" and their gathering at the town hall could be considered a meeting since a quorum of the council members were present, Inclenrock refused to discuss anything with him.

According to court records, Smith filed his complaint in Kanawha Magistrate Court on Sept. 9, 2008. Two days later, Thompson turned himself into police, and was released on his own recognizance.

According to court records, Magistrate Traci Carper-Strickland dismissed all the charges on Dec. 3 following a motion made by the Kanawha County Prosecutor's Office.

Later that evening, records show, the council was scheduled for its regular meeting. Among the items on the agenda was a general line item regarding the police department.

During the meeting, the council allowed Candace White to speak. She alleged that several months earlier that Smith improperly shocked her with his Taser.

According to the complaints, after Smith stopped by White's mother's home, she asked what it was like to be tazed since she was interested in purchasing one for self-defense. After explaining that a less-than-full charge could be compared to a bee sting, Smith "drive stunned" White "at her request and without complaint."

The first time she complained about being tazed was during the council meeting. The four allege that was not coincidental since White's mother was arrested on unspecified charges the same day Smith announced he was pressing charges against Thompson.

Following the meeting, records show Smith, a Mt. Carbon resident, was placed on administrative leave. Despite a request by Inclenrock for a review hearing to be conducted Smith, the council said one was not necessary.

Records show two months later the council fired Smith for tazing White. They ignored Inclenrock's request to hold a review hearing regarding Smith's conduct.

Earlier this year, White filed a lawsuit against the town and Smith relating in the tazing incident.

Prior to Smith, the council fired Christy Inclenrock, Jess's wife, as the town clerk. Their justification in firing Christy, the suits allege, was due to the drop in the number of traffic tickets, which, as part of her job duties, she processed.

Inclenrock, 37, maintains that the volume of tickets written in 2008 was the same when she was hired full-time in 2004 after volunteering for two years. She avers that between 2004 and 2007 "there had been a spike in the number of tickets written but only because the Town was awarded a grant to hire additional police officers."

Around the same time Smith was fired in November, Jess Inclenrock and Carte allege the council created hardships for them by changing their schedules. It was at this time the council implemented a rule prohibiting any employees from working more than an 8-hour shift at a time.

This eventually led Carte, 55, a Charleston resident, to resign from the department last month since his change from full-time to part-time status "resulted in lower pay and reduced benefits" and cost him a part-time job he had working weekends. Prior to the rule change, Carte worked three 12-hour shifts.

Records show prior to the rule change, Inclenrock worked four 10-hour shifts. The schedule enabled him to serve as police chief while taking two full days to devote to his work as a pastor.

According to his complaint, Inclenrock, 40, a Clendenin resident, joined the department in 1999 as a captain. He was promoted to chief the following year.

Also in November, the suits allege the council eliminated funding for the K-9 unit. Though the justification was over the cost of liability insurance, all four claim that the increase in premium was only $20.

Inclenrock maintains the cut was done to spite him since the council knew how much he cherished having a K-9 available. According to his suit, Inclenrock personally housed and cared for the dog for several years and "was never fully reimbursed for the money he personally expended."

The council continued to spite him by demanding the mayor place Inclenrock working straight night shift. This came on July 9 after the council earlier in the Spring attempted to adopt an ordinance giving it some control over the police department.

Alls the suits make claims against the town for hostile work environment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliatory/constructive discharge and violation of municipal police protection. On the latter, Inclenrock, Carte and Smith allege that the council violated state law in taking putative actions against them "without any appropriate investigation, bearing board or other mechanism of review."

The Inclenrocks, Carte and Smith all seek unspecified damages, court costs and attorney fees. The Inclenrocks also seek a court-ordered injunction prohibiting the town from "interfering with his employment in the future," and "from enacting and/or enforcing any ordinance placing it [the police department] in the 'chain of command' along with or in place of the Mayor."

All four are represented by Charleston attorney James B. Akers.

The Inclenrock and Smith suits are assigned to Judge Paul Zakaib while Carte's case is before Judge Irene C. Berger

Kanawha Circuit Court, case numbers 09-C-1661 (Inclenrock), 09-C-1667 (Carte) and 09-C-1673 (Smith)