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A West Liberty firefighter who says he was wrongfully arrested on a charge of harassing public officials and then fired over a separate allegation of sexual harassment is now suing the city for $155,000.
In a federal lawsuit filed this week, Paul Reed alleges he was working for the City of West Liberty on Sept. 25, 2023, when he was placed on administrative leave based on “vague allegations of misconduct.” Eleven days later, Reed claims, he was informed that he was being investigated for sexual harassment. On Oct. 24, 2023, Reed was fired.
The lawsuit alleges the city initially denied Reed access to statements by “witnesses within the fire department” that would have allowed him to rebut the claims of harassment. It goes on to allege that once Reed saw the statements, three or four months after he was fired, he realized the statements were filled with “subjective interpretations” of his behavior rather than what he would consider factual claims.
In the lawsuit, Reed also alleges that in September 2024, long after he was fired, he and his fiancée, West Liberty City Council member Dana Dominguez, met with City Manager Lee Geertz and Mayor Mark Smith. At that meeting, Reed alleges, Geertz “admitted to mishandling the investigation” into his conduct and acknowledged there were issues involving Eric Werling, West Liberty’s police chief in 2023, and Werling’s role in the probe.
The lawsuit seeks to have Reed reinstated in his job and compensated $10,000 for the loss of his stipend as a volunteer firefighter, $15,000 for emotional distress and $30,000 for damage to his reputation. The lawsuit also seeks $100,000 in punitive damages.
The city has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. Geertz and Smith could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Firing followed arrest, acquittal
Court records show that in June 2023, several weeks before Reed was fired, he and his fiancée clashed with police officials over an unrelated issue that resulted in his arrest.
According to police reports, on May 31, 2023, the city’s police officers were investigating a report that the juvenile daughter of Dominguez had been punched by a 14-year-old boy at the West Liberty Public Library. A police officer then telephoned Dominguez, who has been a West Liberty council member since January 2022.
Police reports in the case indicate Reed answered the phone and refused to let the officer speak to either Dominguez or the alleged victim, and also refused to let police meet with the two, saying the family didn’t want police to pursue the matter.
“It should be noted that Reed is not legally married to Dominguez or have legal custody of the juvenile,” the officer wrote in her report, adding that Reed had prevented her from investigating the alleged assault.
“Reed said that if they were telling me that they want nothing to happen then that is what we are leaving it at,” the officer wrote in her report.
The court file contains exhibits that include a series of June 2023 text messages between Chief Werling and Dominguez, in which Dominguez objects to the police department’s investigation of her fiancé.
In the exchange, Dominguez wrote: “Paul just told me what is going on and I will be talking to the mayor about this. This is absolutely ridiculous Eric! My daughter did not want to press charges … We have a paper trail of complaints against you and your officers, and this feels like straight up retaliation.”
The police chief responded that “we were doing our due diligence in following up on the allegation of an assault against a minor.”
Dominguez replied, saying she had given Reed permission to speak to police officers about the alleged assault, and added, “Oh, I will be talking to the county attorney, as well … You overstepped me as her mother and what you’re doing is waiting (sic) taxpayer dollars on arresting an innocent person on (sic) our family … This is not needed and completely inconsiderate that you would go behind my back and do this.”
Two days after that exchange, Reed was formally charged with harassment of a public official. In August 2023, he was acquitted of the charge after a bench trial. In September, Reed was placed on leave, and in November, Werling resigned as the city’s police chief. Dominguez continues to serve on the West Liberty City Council.
Reed said Thursday the criminal charge brought by West Liberty police was unjustified but is not directly connected to the fire department’s allegations of sexual harassment.