CHARLESTON – Among the 72 new lawsuits filed against the West Virginia State Police related to a hidden camera in the women’s locker room and showers of the academy are three that allege retaliation against three whistleblowers involved in investigating complaints against a now-fired State Trooper.
The three whistleblower complaints were filed February 26 along with 69 other lawsuits by victims of the hidden cameras, including a few who also allege physical and sexual assaults.
The three whistleblower plaintiffs are First Sgt. Kenneth William Huddleston, First Lt. Shallon Oglesby and First Lt. James T. Findley Jr. The WVSP is named as the defendant in all three complaints, and former James Comer is named as a defendant in Oglesby and Findley’s complaints.
Huddleston was the district commander of the Morgantown WVSP detachment. Oglesby was a Major and the Chief of Staff Services at the State Police’s headquarters. Findley was a Major and the Director of the Professional Standards Section.
According to the complaints, Huddleston received a report in January 2023 that Comer, who was a WVSP Corporal, was physically abusive to his domestic partner who was a female trooper under his command at the Morgantown detachment. As a Sergeant, Comer also outranked the woman.
Huddleston says he uncovered evidence supporting the allegations of domestic abuse and reported it to the prosecuting attorney in Ritchie County where the abuse allegedly occurred. As part of the investigation, Huddleston says he found hours of video and photos depicting sexually explicit material.
“Among the photos that the plaintiff saw included two naked women, believed to be two cadets, engaged in sexual conduct while sitting on a couch in a room, believed to be at the training academy,” Huddleston’s complaint states. “The contents of Comer’s computer also included numerous photos of genitalia and at least one photo of a named West Virginia State Police employee.
“The contents of Comer’s computer were included with the plaintiff’s investigative report into the allegations of domestic abuse by Comer and submitted to his superior officers. The report that the plaintiff completed, which has received no action by the West Virginia State Police.”
In response to the investigation, Huddleston says he was retaliated against by the WVSP.
“One lieutenant told the plaintiff that he ‘broke the code’ by going after one of the West Virginia State Police’s own troopers,” the complaint states. “He was called down multiple times to Charleston to ‘explain his actions’ to the administration. Other troopers attacked the criminal complaint and affidavits filed against Comer. Other troopers refused to serve warrants for the plaintiff. Other trooper lied about the results of search warrants.”
Huddleston says he talked to Colonel Jan Cahill, who was the WVSP Superintendent at the time. He says Cahill told him to treat the investigation into Comer “like you would anybody else.”
In February 2023, the female trooper requested a domestic violence protective order against Comer. Huddleston was tasked with serving the order to Comer, who then worked at the Parkersburg detachment, but he says no one there would serve the order or warrant on Comer, who already had been placed on administrative suspension pending the investigation.
Comer eventually was served, arrested for domestic violence and released on bond pending trial.
Huddleston says Comer’s legal counsel then overdramatized his interaction with Comer during a family court proceeding in Marion County.
“Within minutes, Comer and/or Comer’s legal counsel contacted the West Virginia State Police to file a complaint against the plaintiff,” Huddleston’s complaint states.
Huddleston also details securing Comer’s WVSP-issued laptop during the investigation. He says it was sent to the Secret Service for placement into evidence and for its contents to be downloaded. The complaint says the Secret Service provided the Federal Bureau of Investigation with a copy of the contents of Comer’s computer.
The WVSP Forensic Laboratory’s Digital Forensic Unit downloaded the laptop, and Huddleston says he received a copy of its contents. He says it contained numerous videos and hundreds of photos of men and women engaging in sexual acts apparently at the WVSP Training Academy.
“It was clear to plaintiff that numerous videos had been deleted or removed from the laptop,” Huddleston’s complaint states. “There were thousands of empty files that stored the deleted or removed content; however, those files had the thumbprint photo remaining. …
“The individual at the DFU who received the contents of Comer’s West Virginia State Police issued laptop received a phone call from an unidentified West Virginia State Police employee and was told that no one is to see the contents of Comer’s West Virginia State Police issued laptop.”
The complaint also says the WVSP “has not conducted any investigation into the contents of the contents of defendant Comer’s laptop.”
Huddleston also says he learned Comer later was living with his ex-wife, who also was a State Trooper. That meant she had weapons at the residence, and Comer wasn’t allowed to have firearms because of the DVP order. When he obtained a search warrant to investigate, Huddleston says he was told by a WVSP Captain to not do anything further on the investigation.
Later, four other WVSP Troopers conducted the search and reported they found no weapons at the home. When the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney requested bodycam footage of the search, it showed firearms were visible throughout the home.
Huddleston includes several other acts of retaliation against him in the complaint. Those include casting doubt on him professionally, showing distrust of him, being removed from the Comer investigation, spreading false rumors about him and attempting to force him out of the WVSP.
The complaints filed by Oglesby and Findley are similar.
In Oglesby’s complaint, she says was in charge of the WVSP staff and was in an administrative position regarding staffing issues. Part of those duties included advocating for victims of domestic violence.
She says she was targeted by the defendants for taking part in the Comer investigation.
“The plaintiff attended the female trooper’s interviews and assisted the investigations into the misconduct of defendant Comer while at the training academy,” the complaint states. “The plaintiff was unlawfully retaliated against for assisting with the investigations.”
Oglesby says she was demoted after Colonel Jack Chambers replaced Cahill as WVSP Superintendent in March 2023.
Oglesby says she was wrongly accused of misappropriating funds, stealing overtime, crashing a police cruiser and ordering the destruction of the external drive that allegedly contained recordings from the hidden camera in the shower and locker facilities at the academy. She says she was demoted, had her pay cut and was reassigned to a less prominent position within the WVSP.
“There are several whistleblowers who have attempted to investigate the wrongdoing of the West Virginia State Police and defendant Comer,” Oglesby’s complaint states. “Those individuals have been attacked for upholding the law. This plaintiff, as a female law enforcement officer in West Virginia, also has claims relating to the installation and operation of the hidden camera(s) within the shower and locker facilities at the West Virginia State Police training academy.”
Cahill resigned as WVSP Superintendent on March 20, 2023. Gov. Jim Justice chose Colonel Jack Chambers as his replacement. On March 23, Chambers demoted Oglesby. She was transferred to procurement in a warehouse in Charleston.
On March 30, the order demoting Oglesby was leaked and provided to the media by an unknown source. She says the leak of that order caused her public embarrassment. She says she has since applied to be transferred to the WVSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation, but the request was denied and ignored.
Findley makes similar claims to Oglesby. He says part of his duties as director of PSS was to conduct internal investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by troopers. He and Oglesby were the only two WVSP “fall guys” demoted by Chambers, and the order of his demotion also was leaked to the media.
Findley says he was, had his pay cut and was transferred to be a logistics officer at the Turnpike detachment in Beckley, “which has long been the location to which troopers who have engaged in wrongdoing get transferred as a form of punishment.” He also says he has applied for other WVSP positions, but they all have been denied and ignored as well.
Huddleston accuses the WVSP of violating the state whistleblower law, conspiracy to violate the law, negligence per se and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Oglesby and Findley also accuse Comer of defamation.
They all seek compensatory damages including interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Toriseva and Josh Miller of Toriseva Law in Wheeling, by Kelly Reed and Traci Cook of The Law Offices of Kelly C. Reed in Morgantown and by Bryan Edwards of Cranston & Edwards in Morgantown.