HUBBARD TOWNSHIP — Nearly a week after the township’s former police chief claimed in a lawsuit he was unfairly fired and mistreated because of his disabilities and for reporting threats made by a township trustee, a second one has been filed against the township.

Chris Gifford, a former police sergeant who served the township from May 2013 to March 2024 and the township’s police union president from 2016 to 2023, is suing Hubbard Township, Fiscal Officer Jennifer Evans and Trustee William Colletta, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Evans’ name was not found in the rest of the lawsuit or court records despite being listed as one of the defendants, however.

The case will be heard by Judge Sean O’Brien.

Gifford, who claims his resignation wasn’t voluntary but compelled by the township’s failure to protect him from retaliation and discrimination, is requesting reinstatement to a position he was entitled to because of qualifications, compensation for physical injury and sickness, emotional distress and other damages in excess of $25,000 per claim to be proven, as well as a jury trial.

Gifford, represented by attorneys Patricia Brandt and Sam B. Robb from Spitz (The Employee’s Law Firm), states that he, in his capacity as union president, rescinded the union’s endorsement of Colletta for trustee during Colletta’s campaign.

Gifford alleges that after Colletta became trustee, he began a pattern of “retaliatory conduct” against Gifford, including opposing his promotion, making veiled threats and initiating baseless investigations.

Colletta later held a trustee meeting where he threatened Gifford and other unionized police officers, telling them it would be “career suicide” if officers left Hubbard Township for another agency.

“Colletta’s career suicide comment implied that he would harm the officers’ careers in retaliation for the officers searching for other jobs,” the lawsuit states.

Gifford eventually began a mental health leave on Dec. 11, 2023, per the recommendation of former police Chief Ron Fusco after Gifford was involved in an on-duty shooting, to recover from trauma associated with it.

The lawsuit states Gifford’s need for it was “genuine and medically necessary” as confirmed by a social worker a month later, who documented his medical treatment and the fact that he would remain under medical care until March 4, 2024.

Colletta allegedly reached out to Gifford on Jan. 18, 2024, demanding an updated doctor’s note, details about his next appointment and tentative return-to-work date. The lawsuit states that Colletta’s contact was outside of his duties as trustee and that he did not ask Fusco if he could contact Gifford, bypassing the chief’s office, adding that Gifford had already provided medically necessary information to Fusco and the township.

The lawsuit states Colletta’s message to Gifford constituted disability discrimination, interference with medical leave and a disregard for the seriousness of his mental health condition, as well as a retaliatory attempt to pressure him to shorten his medically necessary leave, noting that Colletta did not contact other officers on vacation or leave, and singling out Gifford.

The lawsuit states that Colletta’s harassment increased after his previous message to Gifford, accusing him of stealing union documents — which he had no standing to prohibit Gifford from accessing — adding that he was the union president until a new one was sworn in in February 2024. Gifford was only a custodian of the documents, which were in a locked safe in his office at the police station.

Colletta’s accusation of Gifford’s theft triggered an internal investigation that the lawsuit states was “entirely baseless and clearly retaliatory in nature,” subjecting Gifford to unnecessary stress and hostility during a time when he was supposed to be focusing on his medical recovery.

Gifford was eventually exonerated from Colletta’s accusation, but his theft accusation and harassment of Gifford created a hostile workplace based on disability discrimination, according to the lawsuit.

Gifford submitted his resignation to acting Chief William Greene March 3, 2024.

“By March 2024, the working conditions had become so intolerable due to Colletta’s threats, harassment and interference with medical leave — that Gifford had no reasonable alternative but to resign,” the suit states.

The lawsuit states that when Gifford applied for employment with another agency, the agency sent a request to the township for the calculation of Gifford’s hours worked at the township. The township refused to provide it to them. However, they provided the same request to the next agency for another former officer.

The township refused to provide those hours for a year of Gifford’s career, according to the lawsuit.

“Because Hubbard did not provide the hours Gifford worked for Hubbard in that year, his next agency was not able to award him with the total amount of sick time and vacation time for which he was eligible,” the lawsuit states.

Colletta said Gifford’s accusations are “totally false or exaggerated,” in response to the lawsuit Friday afternoon, adding that “the individual voluntarily resigned.”