In response to a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and mistreatment of a former Wright City police officer, an attorney for the city government has issued a lengthy denial of any wrongdoing on the part of city officials and police department supervisors.

Last November, fired detective Chris Beard sued Police Chief Tom Canavan, Lt. Timothy Matthews, and the Wright City government as a whole, alleging that Beard was the subject of unprofessional and disparaging remarks by Chief Canavan, and that he was fired in violation of state laws protecting public employees.

Beard was fired in October 2022 following an investigation into an allegedly unjustified arrest of a Wright City resident (an arrest that the city is being separately sued for in federal court).

Wright City’s response to Beard’s lawsuit was submitted to the Warren County Circuit Court in mid-January by attorney Jason Retter from the law firm Hellmich, Hill & Retter, based in Kirkwood. The response is structured to reject any basis under which Beard could have a valid legal complaint.

Firstly, the response issues blanket denials to many of the factual statements underlying Beard’s complaint, essentially challenging whether Beard can prove that his accusations are true. 

Secondly, the response acknowledges a basic series of events leading up to Beard’s firing, and states that the actions of city officials and police supervisors were done with a “legitimate managerial purpose ... in a manner which was proper, reasonable, lawful, and in the exercise of good faith,” and that “(Beard’s) employment was lawfully terminated.”

Thirdly, the response argues that none of Beard’s accusations amount to an actionable legal claim against a city government or police supervisors operating in their official capacity.

Retter, the city’s attorney, concludes the response by asking for a judge to dismiss the wrongful termination lawsuit. Failing that, the city will demand a jury trial to resolve the dispute, according to the response.

Notable admission

Despite its complete rejection of Beard’s overall claims, the city’s response to the lawsuit does include several notable admissions related to text messages allegedly sent by Chief Canavan. 

As part of the lawsuit, Beard provided the court with a number of images of text messages in which Canavan purportedly makes disparaging or obscene remarks about Beard. The city’s response admits that Canavan sent the text messages to another Wright City police officer, but that the city otherwise denies “any factual allegation inconsistent with the complete contents of said text message ... which speaks for itself.” 

The response also argues that none of Chief Canavan’s actions create a viable legal claim against him.

Timeline of events

As early as 2019 and throughout 2022, Beard alleges numerous incidents of harassment by Canavan, including an incident in which Canavan allegedly handed Beard a bullet with Beard’s name on it, and also disparaging comments made about Beard to other police officers.

In March 2022, Beard and two other police officers are accused of arresting a Wright City resident in retaliation for a rude gesture that he made toward one of the officers. The resident subsequently complained to Lt. Matthews, who had the charges dropped.

In September, a YouTube channel focused on police misconduct published a video about the incident, after which the Wright City Board of Aldermen ordered police supervisors to investigate the officers’ conduct. The investigation reportedly was conducted by Lt. Matthews.

Around the same time, Beard made complaints about his treatment known to Wright City's administrators, aldermen, and mayor.

The results of the internal investigation are not public record and have not been disclosed by city officials. However, the board of aldermen voted in October to fire Beard and discipline one other officer.

Beard filed his wrongful termination lawsuit about a month later, alleging that he was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about the conduct of superior officers. The entire text of the lawsuit is available at this link.

The resident at the center of the March arrest complaint filed a federal lawsuit in December, alleging that his constitutional rights had been violated.