A former police officer has filed a federal lawsuit against the town of Maben, alleging the mayor discriminated against him based on his age and later had the officer fired after the officer filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Charlie Miller, 62, of Louisville, filed the suit against the town in the Mississippi Northern District Court in Aberdeen on Tuesday. Up until last week, Miller worked as a part-time police officer in Maben for more than a year, according to his attorney Toby Gammill of Jackson.
In his complaint, Miller alleges Maben Mayor Larry Pruitt said during a board of aldermen meeting in January that Miller was “too old” to be hired full-time, after one alderman recommended him for full-time status. The mayor said “insurance for (Miller) would most likely cost too much” and directed city clerk Natasha Rose to obtain a quote from the city’s insurance provider, according to the complaint.
When Rose obtained the quote, she told Pruitt Miller’s coverage would actually be less than that of younger officers, the complaint says. However, Pruitt has refused to consider hiring Miller.
Miller said he had been hired with the understanding that he would eventually could work as a full-time officer.
Gammill added Pruitt also directed Rose to leave his comments about Miller’s age out of the meeting minutes.
“There’s just blatant age discrimination on a veteran police officer by a small town, and looking at budgetary concerns, at the end of the day didn’t matter,” Gammill said. “It’s beyond the scope of a board attorney and a mayor to direct the city clerk to leave items, discriminatory comments, at a meeting out of the minutes, which should be public record.”
Gammill said the case is “pretty egregious” and that he and Miller are asking for a jury trial to determine “as much as he could get” in damages for lost wages and other costs.
Pruitt told The Dispatch Wednesday that he had not received a copy of the complaint and further declined to comment. Attorney Mark McClinton of New Albany, who is representing Maben, did not return calls from The Dispatch by press time.
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