WELLSBURG – Brooke County’s former chief deputy has sued the county and the sheriff claiming he was targeted for termination and was a victim of religious discrimination.
Scott Adams filed his complaint November 14 in Brooke Circuit Court against the Brooke County Commission and Sheriff Richard Beatty Jr.
Adams is a law enforcement veteran, having served 23 years with the West Virginia State Police and working as an investigator with the Ohio County Prosecutor’s office for two years before becoming Brooke County’s chief deputy in April 2019.
“The now former Brooke County Chief Deputy Scott Adams has led a life of public service with an illustrious record serving the people,” attorney Teresa Toriseva told The West Virginia Record. “He’s widely respected in the Northern Panhandle community.
“We will prove he was illegally targeted for investigation and firing and that his religious freedom has been violated.”
Adams was placed on leave last month after being suspended in August. And this week, Beatty told commissioners Adams had been fired as of November 6 because of an "internal issue" earlier this year.
According to the complaint, Adams began having issues when he stood up for a deputy the county wanted to fire because of a medical condition.
In January 2023, Caleb Minger was hired as a deputy. He has a genetic blood disorder. In April, the county’s health insurance carrier The Health Plan told the county it would be increasing premiums because of the cost of a prescription medication Minger uses.
The complaint says the county didn’t know Minger was the employee using the medication, but it launched an investigation to learn who it was. When the county learned it was Minger, the complaint says the county began a campaign to fire Minger. The county told Beatty to fire Minger, according to the complaint.
In May, Adams met with Minger, Beatty and county commissioners to discuss Minger’s medical condition. The county called Minger’s doctor during that meeting to discuss the condition and to see if there was a cheaper medication Minger could use. The doctor said the medication was a life-saving drug for Minger and said no cheaper alternatives existed.
Soon after, another meeting occurred with all county department heads to discuss insurance premiums and Minger’s condition, according to the complaint. After that meeting, the county threatened to cut the Sheriff’s Department budget from $1.7 million to $1.5 million if Minger wasn’t fired. The county also threatened to cut pay and benefits for all deputies if Minger wasn’t fired, according to the complaint.
The deputies, led by Adams, organized and refused to let Minger be fired. As a result, the county did cut pay for the deputies by increasing their insurance premiums and by cut the amount of a raise they expected.
Minger eventually was forced to resign on July 31 because of the unlawful and discriminatory conduct, but he has received a job with another sheriff’s department.
The county's alleged actions against Minger also are part of another lawsuit deputies filed against the county.
After Adams led the push to keep Minger fired, the complaint says Adams’ employment was suspended. The county told Beatty to fire Adams for “his role in resisting the discrimination against Mr. Minger and for helping organize the Sheriff’s Deputies to oppose the defendant-county’s unlawful conduct,” according to the complaint.
A July 7 letter from the county claimed Adams improperly served process in a civil proceeding while in uniform, approved overtime for deputies to attend the Wellsburg Police Academy, prayed with a prisoner who requested it, for making religious Facebook posts while wearing his uniform and for using county liability insurance coverage for the Wellsburg Police Academy. Adams says the letter also asked him to resign.
Because the letter contained “outright falsehoods and misleading statements,” Adams says he refused to resign.
On August 18, he was suspended pending an investigation. Adams says the alleged reasons for his suspension were pretextual.
Adams accuses the defendants of violating the West Virginia Human Rights Act and state Constitution for unlawfully retaliating against him and for discriminating against him for his religious beliefs, saying he is a devout Christian and that the defendants knew he is religious. He also accuses the defendants of violating the state Whistle-Blower Law for his actions to defend Minger and his employment.
Adams says the defendants’ actions and misconduct have caused him to suffer mental anguish, humiliation, annoyance, inconvenience, loss to his professional reputation and loss of income. He seeks compensatory damages, interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief. He also seeks a writ of mandamus prohibiting the defendants form infringing on his freedom of religion.
He is being represented by Toriseva and Joshua Miller of Toriseva Law in Wheeling. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Ronald E. Wilson.
Brooke Circuit Court case number 23-C-82
