CINCINNATI — A former Hamilton County chief deputy is suing Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey for allegedly firing him in retaliation for his past criticism of her.
Mark Schoonover filed the lawsuit on Dec. 26, 2022 in U.S. District Court, just days before the two-year statute of limitations on his legal claims would have expired.
Schoonover worked at the sheriff’s office for 39 years and was former Sheriff Jim Neil’s second in command, overseeing 900 employees including McGuffey when she was then a major overseeing the jail. Neil fired McGuffey in 2017.
McGuffey then ran against Neil, defeated him in the primary election and took over as sheriff on Jan. 4, 2021. The same day that McGuffey took office, she fired Schoonover.
The reasons for that firing – whether they were justified or illegal - will be decided by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew McFarland and ultimately a jury.
"It is common practice for a newly elected sheriff to select their own command staff. Other than that, we will not comment on pending litigation,’’ said sheriff’s office spokesperson Kyla Woods.
This is the latest legal battle over leadership at the sheriff’s department. Taxpayers have already spent $475,000 to settle a lawsuit over McGuffey’s firing.
McGuffey filed suit in 2018 and claimed she was fired because she exposed excessive use of force by deputies and corrections officers. She alleged that some within the department didn't like the fact she was an openly gay woman.
The lawsuit ended when Hamilton County Commissioners approved a $212,500 settlement for lost wages and benefits for McGuffey in December 2019, and a federal judge awarded her an additional $263,000 in costs and attorneys’ fees.
Neil and the county did not admit to the allegations made by McGuffey, according to the settlement agreement.
As part of McGuffey’s lawsuit, attorneys deposed Schoonover for nearly six hours on May 9, 2019. During that testimony, Schoonover criticized McGuffey for interfering in internal affairs investigations and not disciplining her own subordinates.
Schoonover also said in the deposition that he didn’t agree with Neil’s decision to put McGuffey in charge of the jail and court services. He testified he believed a captain in the sheriff’s office was more qualified for the job than McGuffey.
Schoonover then recommended that McGuffey be fired after an internal affairs investigation into a 2017 complaint of hostile work environment. Rather than dismissing McGuffey, Neil offered her another position. McGuffey refused to take that position and Neil fired her in June 2017, according to the lawsuit.
“Plaintiff testified in a manner adverse to McGuffey and she retaliated against him by terminating his employment as soon as she had the opportunity and authority to do so,” according to Schoonover’s lawsuit.
If Schoonover’s lawsuit is successful, it could expose county taxpayers to a big payout. He wants back wages and benefits, reinstatement, compensatory and punitive damages, interest, attorney’s fees and costs.
“I think the potential exposure to the government here could be anywhere from $100,000 to maybe even up to a half a million dollars depending on how long he’s out of work and other compensatory damages,” said attorney Matthew Miller-Novak, who specializes in government and employment cases.
Schoonover’s attorney, Dave Torchia, did not respond to a request for comment.
Torchia represented former Cincinnati health commissioner Noble Maseru in a discrimination case against the University of Cincinnati. Days before trial was set to begin, UC agreed to pay $130,000 to Maseru to settle the case.
Torchia also represented former city manager Harry Black.He helped negotiate a total buyout from the city worth $544,000 in cash plus benefits, after Black resigned minutes before Cincinnati City Council was set to fire him in April 2018.
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