Former Wichita detective sues city alleging retaliation after his wife sued in 2018
A terminated Wichita police detective has filed a lawsuit alleging misconduct by leadership in the department and retaliation against him after his wife, a former lieutenant, had complained about discrimination.
Lance Oldridge is seeking more than $75,000 in damages, according to the suit filed in federal court last week. The suit names six defendants: the city of Wichita, city manager Robert Layton, police chief Gordon Ramsay, deputy chiefs Wanda Givens and Jose Salcido, and former deputy chief Anna Hatter, who is now the police chief in Abilene.
A city spokesperson said they would not comment since the suit is ongoing.
Oldridge was fired in April 2020 after more than 26 years with the department, the suit says.
His wife, Sarah Oldridge, is a former lieutenant who sued the city in 2018 alleging discrimination. Her suit is ongoing. She was with the Wichita Police Department for more than 24 years, until June 2021.
She resigned from the department, according to her attorney.
Lawyers from Graybill and Hazlewood are representing both of the Oldridges.
Sarah Oldridge’s lawsuit alleges she was discriminated against when she was passed over for a promotion to captain in favor of a “lesser qualified male Lieutenant.” Her complaint is one of the reasons Lance Oldridge says he was terminated, according to the suit.
Oldridge also claims that he was terminated after sending an email from his personal account to then-council member Jeff Longwell in 2014, raising concerns about former mayor Carl Brewer and others going to West and South Africa during an Ebola outbreak.
Oldridge asked if they would have to quarantine since an Ebola outbreak in the community “(God forbid), especially City Hall … would cripple the public/service/law enforcement capacity of our city.”
Oldridge’s lawyers say he was acting as a private citizen and his speech was protected under the First Amendment.
Givens, who is Black, brought the Ebola email up years later when she was interviewed about Sarah Oldridge’s complaint about discrimination in the department, saying an email Sarah Oldridge sent to human resources reminded her of it.
Givens said the Ebola email made her concerned for her husband’s business since he went on the trip, the suit says.
The suit alleges Givens thought the email was racist.
Oldridge also claims in the lawsuit that the department dredged up false information against him after he complained to the sheriff, district attorney and professional standards bureau about top police officials, including allegations that the chief had lied under oath about the reasons Oldridge was removed from his previous post in the professional standards bureau.
One of those police officials — Givens — responded by filing her own racial discrimination complaint against Oldridge, which he claims was unfairly beefed up with a months-old grievance from a different employee.
Hatter fired Oldridge a few months later.