CINCINNATI — A former Hamilton County deputy is accusing Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey and her chief deputy of retaliation and violating his First Amendment rights.
In a lawsuit filed on Monday, Jason Davis and his wife claim McGuffey and Chief Deputy Jay Gramke stopped his appointment to the Regional Enforcement of Narcotics Unit and denied his promotion to corporal when he came to the top of the eligibility list in July and August 2023.
Davis said those decisions came after he exercised his First Amendment rights by responding to someone online that the sheriff's office had not supported the "Remember the Fallen" sporting event he organized for law enforcement and firefighters in Hamilton County.
The lawsuit says his wife had also made and liked public posts that "were pro-law enforcement, but critical of certain policies of Sheriff McGuffey."
Davis claims McGuffey and Gramke's "retaliatory measures" cost him, among other benefits, a 7% raise and additional overtime. He said they even attempted to negotiate with the union an early expiration of the promotion list that he was then atop, a term he said became known as being "Jason Davis'd."
The lawsuit says both McGuffey and Gramke told Davis when he met with them in October 2023 that their actions were a result of what was said, specifically by his wife online.
"McGuffey specifically told Jason that he needed to end his 20-plus-year marriage if he wanted to continue or advance his career with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit says he was forced to resign to continue his law enforcement career after he "was constructively discharged."
"We look forward to having our lawyer represent us in this lawsuit because so much of it is untrue," McGuffey said in a statement provided to WCPO. "That is the only comment we have at this time regarding the pending litigation."
McGuffey is running for reelection in the November general election.
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