Oldridge v. Wichita, Kansas, City of

CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedApril 24, 2025
Docket6:21-cv-01284
StatusUnknown

This text of Oldridge v. Wichita, Kansas, City of (Oldridge v. Wichita, Kansas, City of) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oldridge v. Wichita, Kansas, City of, (D. Kan. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

LANCE OLDRIDGE,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 21-1284-EFM-BGS

CITY OF WICHITA, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO COMPEL

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff Lance Oldridge’s (hereinafter “Oldridge” or “Plaintiff”) amended motion to compel. Doc. 135. Defendants the City of Wichita, Robert Layton, and Anna Hatter (hereinafter “the City” or “Defendants”) oppose the motion arguing, in part, that the disputed discovery requests seek irrelevant information on what Plaintiff alleges are similarly situated employees. Doc. 139. For the reasons stated herein, the motion is DENIED. I. Background Facts This case has a long procedural history. The facts have been previously recounted by this court and the Tenth Circuit. See Docs. 78, 105. In this Order, the Court will not recite every factual nuance but will instead briefly state the relevant facts necessary to rule on the motion. Plaintiff brings claims for violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against all Defendants and claims under Title VII and the Kansas Act Against Discrimination (“KAAD”) against the City. Oldridge was a longtime Wichita Police Department (“WPD”) detective who was assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau (“PSB”) and later the WPD academy. He was employed by the WPD from 1993 to April 2020. Toward the end of his employment with the WPD, a series of disputes arose which led to his termination. In 2019, the Wichita Eagle published an article which contained statements from Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay during a deposition. The statements made by Chief Ramsay related to questionable police practices such as the PSB asking leading questions and potentially contaminating ongoing criminal investigations. In the article, Chief Ramsay also expressed concern that police officers, potentially including Oldridge, engaged in misconduct during criminal investigations. These concerns included leading questions, conflicts, and biased investigations. The article also reported

that Ramsay responded to the concerns by reassigning several officers. While not named directly, those officers impliedly included Oldridge. After the Wichita Eagle article was published, Ramsay responded with a public statement claiming that the reassigned officers “committed no legal or WPD internal violations.” Doc. 32, at 6. See also Doc. 78, at 3. Oldridge believed this public statement was evidence of Chief Ramsay violating Kansas law. Ramsay testified in his deposition that certain police officers had committed WPD violations but said effectively the opposite in his public statement. As a result, Oldridge delivered a packet of materials to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett. These materials included a copy of Ramsay’s deposition testimony, his public statements, copies of Kansas statutes relating to false communications, and a cover letter asserting Ramsay gave false testimony under oath. Oldridge requested that the district attorney investigate Ramsay’s alleged criminal conduct and added that he was willing to sign a criminal complaint against Ramsay. The district attorney responded to Oldridge with an email opining that Ramsay had not

committed a crime. According to the district attorney, Ramsay was merely providing his opinions during his deposition testimony and through public statements. Oldridge sent a similar packet to Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter. He informed the Sheriff that the district attorney had chosen not to investigate Plaintiff’s allegations and requested that the Sedgwick County Sherriff’s Office investigate Ramsay for alleged perjury. After consulting with the district attorney, the Sheriff informed Plaintiff that it would not launch an investigation into Ramsay. The Sheriff also informed Ramsay of Plaintiff’s allegations. After learning of Plaintiff’s communications with the district attorney and Sheriff’s Office, Chief Ramsay contacted his staff about Plaintiff’s allegations. WPD Deputy Chiefs Jose Salcido, Anna Hatter, and Wanda Givens met with the district attorney to discuss Plaintiff’s allegations. After the meeting, Deputies Salcido and Givens recommended a PSB investigation into Plaintiff

based on his statements to the district attorney and to the Sheriff’s office. Ramsay authorized the investigation when he received the request. On December 6, 2019, Plaintiff was suspended pending the investigation, which included an unusual requirement that he remain at home during work hours. Plaintiff alleges that others suspended by the City were not subject to such confinement. On December 9, 2019, Oldridge produced documents to the PSB showing that he informed the Sheriff of his prior conversations with the district attorney. Oldridge filed a complaint against Deputy Givens for retaliation and against Ramsay for providing false testimony. On March 30, 2020, Deputy Hatter recommended terminating Oldridge. Both the district court and the Tenth Circuit summarized the memorandum. See Docs. 78, at 5; 105, at 4-5. The Tenth Circuit stated that Deputy Hatter discussed Plaintiff’s statements to the district attorney and to the Sheriff, “but suggested that the basis for termination was centered on his allegedly derogatory and debasing statements about the police chief to his coworkers, his untruthfulness, and his breach of a prior confidentiality agreement.” Doc. 105, at 4-5. The City Manager approved Plaintiff’s

termination on April 19, 2020. Plaintiff filed a grievance and later appealed the decision, but ultimately his termination was upheld. In addition to the above, Oldridge also alleges he was retaliated against for the actions of his wife, Sarah Oldridge, who was the only female out of 30 Lieutenants with the WPD. Sarah Oldridge raised questions about discrimination within the WPD. In 2018, she sent an email within the WPD asking about certain promotion procedures and what the WPD did to eliminate bias from an anonymous survey that was used in the promotion process. According to the amended complaint, the email was not well received. Ms. Oldridge filed an EEOC charge of discrimination and a lawsuit of her own against the WPD. While her allegations are not at issue in this lawsuit, Oldridge alleges his wife’s actions were a contributing factor in his termination. Specifically, he alleges that the WPD retaliated against him because his wife filed an EEOC charge and lawsuit.

With this backdrop, Plaintiff filed suit in federal court on December 1, 2021, alleging claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, Title VII, and the KAAD. Plaintiff, a white male, alleges his “race played a role in [his] suspension, investigation, and termination.” Doc. 18, ¶ 95. He also alleges that he was retaliated against for exercising his First Amendment rights because he “would not have been suspended, investigated, or fired, had he not made complaints to law enforcement about Defendant Ramsay.” Id., ¶ 93. Further, he claims he “would not have been suspended, investigated, or fired, had Sarah Oldridge not asserted her rights under federal and state law” which amounts to retaliation under Title VII and KAAD. See id., ¶ 94. This case has been heavily litigated during pre-discovery proceedings. The Defendants filed an early motion for summary judgment which was granted in part and denied in part. See Doc. 78. Plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration of the summary judgment order which was also granted in part and denied in part. See Doc. 97. Defendants appealed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity. The Tenth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part. See Doc. 105.

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