A former Macomb County assistant prosecutor Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit alleging retaliation and failure to follow due process against his former boss, Peter Lucido, Lucido’s chief deputy and the county over his firing last month.
Joshua Van Laan, an 11-veteran of the office, alleges Lucido, his Deputy Chief Donald Fresard and the county retaliated against him for cooperating with an investigation into Lucido’s workplace behavior, reporting racial discrimination against one of the Shelby Five protestors and a reverend who sued Lucido over his arrest at a Shelby Township rally, while failing to provide him due process.
Van Laan, who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court through attorney Deborah Gordon, claims violation of the state Whistleblower Act, state Eilliot-Larson Civil Rights Act, 14th Amendment right to due process and “tortious interference with a contract or advantageous business relationship or expectancy” in the 27-page complaint. Lucido and Fresard are named in all of the counts, and the county is named in the retaliation and due-process counts.
“Throughout 2022, (Van Laan) opposed several unlawful actions by Defendants, including sexual harassment, gender, race, and disability discrimination against employees, and retaliation against members of the public,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff’s protected activity infuriated Defendants, who retaliated against Plaintiff by pre-determining that he would be fired from his long-standing position as an Assistant...
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