A former University of Arkansas at Fort Smith police officer on Friday asked for dismissal of a lawsuit he filed last year alleging discrimination based on his race and age.
An attorney for Christopher Thompson filed the motion Friday for dismissal without prejudice, meaning Thompson would be free to refile the lawsuit.
Thompson's attorney, Troy Gaston, did not respond to a phone message left at his office.
In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith, Thompson claimed Police Chief Ray Ottman made "racially charged" comments.
The lawsuit states that Thompson is black and Ottman is white, and claimed that Ottman's "excessive cursing and yelling" was not done toward "other similarly situated white and younger employees." Thompson was told in September 2017 that he was terminated from his job "because of a call he answered involving an intoxicated non-student," the lawsuit states.
"It is university policy not to comment on ongoing litigation," UAFS spokesman Chris Kelly said in an email.
Metro on 09/21/2019