LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bullitt County will pay $650,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Sheriff's Deputy John Cottrell.
In the lawsuit, filed in 2017, Cottrell claimed he was fired by Sheriff David Greenwell after revealing that Greenwell was involved in criminal activity. Cottrell claims he was wrongfully terminated Oct. 5 while out on medical leave by Greenwell as retaliation for taking part in a criminal investigation against Greenwell.
Over the two years before the lawsuit was filed, Cottrell said he reported alleged mismanagement, waste, fraud, abuse of authority and illegal activity by Greenwell. The lawsuit did not provide details on the alleged criminal activity.
Greenwell was found not guilty of the charges, and Cottrell was fired for “absence from duty,” according to a termination letter obtained by WDRB News in 2016.
In a statement Tuesday, Cottrell's attorney said the settlement was "fair and equitable."
"Anytime you litigate against the Government or people that are in positions of power and authority it is an uphill battle," Garry Adams, Cottell's attorney, said in a written statement. "Following Mr. Cottrell’s wrongful termination in 2016, he exercised his rights under both the State and Federal Constitutions by filing a civil suit to expose violations of law that he encountered in his position as Chief Deputy of the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office and to prove that he was retaliated against for upholding the very law he swore to...
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