A federal judge dismissed former Lafayette Police Chief Thomas Glover's lawsuit against the city-parish.
Glover, who was hired by the Guillory administration in 2020 and fired by October 2021, had alleged in the suit that he was terminated because he's Black. The court dismissed his suit this week, with prejudice. That means he cannot re-file the lawsuit later.
U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph granted the LCG motion for Summary Judgment this week, court records show.
In the Motion, filed in April, attorneys for LCG argued that Glover filed his suit "without any factual support." It also argues that LCG, including Guillory and members of his administration "articulated legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the termination" of Glover.
That includes evidence that Glover "made misrepresentations to the Fire and Police Civil Service Board" and to a city council member about an internal affairs investigation "that never took place."
"This resulted in a complete loss of confidence and trust in Plaintiff's ability to serve as the highest-ranking law enforcement official for the City of Lafayette," the Motion states.
In their opposition Motion, Glover's attorneys argued that LCG officials "have supposedly produced a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for Glover’s termination (which is plainly false)" — but only months after he was terminated. Because they wouldn't give that reason when he was fired, it shouldn't be considered, his attorneys argued.
Prior to his hiring as Lafayette's top cop, he had worked at the Dallas Police Department for more than 30 years, but had Louisiana ties in that he is a graduate of Grambling. Mayor-President Josh Guillory fired him in October 2021.
The suit, filed in February 2023, alleged that the reasons given since then for his termination are "false and pretextual." To read our story about it, click here.
