Fired Police Chief Alleges 'Master-Slave Dynamic,' Sues Village Of Flossmoor

CHICAGO, IL — Fired Flossmoor police chief Jerel Jones is suing the Village of Flossmoor, claiming racial discrimination and retaliation, specifically by Village Manager Bridget Wachtel.

Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson last week announced the termination of police chief Jerel Jones, citing "serious operational and administrative lapses under his watch."

On Monday, attorneys for Jones responded, alleging Jones' firing was a violation of his civil rights, and that Jones received "disparate treatment" from Wachtel, according to court documents. In the federal lawsuit filed by the Disparti Law Group, Wachtel is accused of issuing "self-contradictory and hyperbolic performance memos to Jerel that criticize seemingly every aspect of his performance, his speech and speech patterns, his initiative and non-initiative..."

The lawsuit alleges that Wachtel created an environment in which "Jerel must do exactly as Wachtel or other white administrators say he must do and he must diminish his own thoughts, beliefs, and ideas, and accept Wachtel’s."

At a press conference Monday, Jones was joined by attorneys Lawrence Disparti, Robert W. Fioretti, Jamaal Buchanan and Cass Casper, along with representatives from NOBLE (National Organization of Black Law Enforcement).

The lawsuit claims Wachtel "imposed a master-slave dynamic between her and Jerel and, if he did not fit himself into that expected dynamic, he could not be Police Chief."

Chief Jerel Jones was hired in March 2023, following the departure of former chief Tod Kamleiter, who retired in December 2022 after nearly three decades with the department. Jones was the department's first Black police chief.

"I worked hard to build relationships with members of the community, local businesses, and the law enforcement community in both Flossmoor and the Southland," Jones told the press Monday.

"I worked tirelessly to create a safer environment for our community amid some difficult times. I advocated for new policies and technologies that would transform the Flossmoor police department into one of the greatest agencies."

The suit goes on to claim that Wachtel treated Jones with "overbearing scrutiny, micromanagement, baseless criticism, personally attacking criticisms, ... generally holding him to a standard of performance that would be unachievable by anyone."

The lawsuit cites examples and memos issued by Wachtel surrounding Jones' pursuit of additional and improved body-worn cameras for officers, obtaining access to District 161 school camera footage, and security plans for Flossmoor Fest 2023. In communications and critiques of Jones' leadership in those instances, Wachtel notes Jones' alleged tendency to "catastrophize" and use "scare tactics and intimidation," that were "distracting from meaningful conversations."

The lawsuit alleges that, "Carefully read, all of Wachtel’s Memoranda have this tone to them, are personally derogatory toward Jerel and parse nearly every one of Jerel’s actions to such an extent that the Memoranda reveal that there is more going on here than just management oversight; rather, Jerel states that Wachtel treated him in this fashion because she does not like that he is Black, does not like that a Black man takes initiatives, does not like that a Black man might speak differently or use different speech patterns and tones than her view of how a Black man should speak, and wants to continue to remind the Black man that he is subservient to the White power structure imposed and enforced by Wachtel."

Complaint (Jones v. Flossmoor) (File-stamped) by Lauren Traut on Scribd

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In the wake of public uproar about firing of the town's well-liked police chief, Nelson late last week took to the media to respond.

"Personnel matters should not be discussed in public for several reasons, most importantly for the privacy of the employee. Because of the misinformation surrounding Chief Jones, I am compelled to make this statement," she said.

Nelson went to say Jones is likeable, and that he and the department have focused on community building. Noting misinformation spreading among the community, Nelson called it understandable that residents were speaking up.

"It has been disappointing, however, that the public conversation has been so devoid of facts," Nelson said. "So, because this matter is tearing at our community, I need to take this opportunity to provide residents with some context, based on valid, credible information, not rumor."
Nelson continued to say that in hiring Jones, Village officials believed "he would guide the men and women of the Flossmoor Police Department professionally and capably."

"When performance issues arise, it is our responsibility to communicate those concerns to that employee and provide them with guidance and resources so they can be successful in their role," Nelson said. "When a leader of a critical department is not meeting expectations, the ripple effect can adversely impact the entire department."

Officials alerted Jones to performance concerns "on several occasions," Nelson said.

"I wish I could be more specific about these concerns, but it is not my desire to do so out of respect for Chief Jones and for this process in general," she continued.

"... What I can tell you is that there have been serious operational and administrative lapses under his watch. In totality, I believe these lapses mean that our residents are not receiving the level of public safety services they expect and deserve. Based on that conclusion, it has become clear that it is best for the Village if all parties part ways."

Jerel seeks all available relief, including reinstatement, back pay and damages, and an injunction against the Village requiring it to send the Village Manager and all other administration officials to "comprehensive racial sensitivity training immediately to prevent any comparable action from happening to anyone else again."

Jones also demands a public apology from the Mayor and the Village.

Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson on Monday declined to comment on the lawsuit.