Fired police chief in western Colorado sues City of Ouray, claiming wrongful termination

Jeffrey Wood, the former chief of the Ouray Police Department who was fired after a slew of allegations were leveled against him by city officials and the public, is now suing the western Colorado city in federal court, claiming city officials violated his 14th Amendment right to due process.

Wood filed the lawsuit on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. He was fired in June after the city investigated several allegations against him. City officials cited a high-profile case in which Wood's stepson and two others allegedly raped a woman in Wood's home as he slept upstairs.

After being made aware of those allegations, Wood was placed on paid administrative leave. While on leave, additional accusations against Wood were made -- one pertaining to a juvenile's record being expunged, another related to mishandling of evidence and another related to excessive force -- according to documents and claims from those city officials.

The city, in firing Wood, also accused him of disparaging the Black Lives Matter movement, violating department policy by keeping his body-worn camera off -- something he says is not required of police chiefs -- and putting a sexually explicit sticker on his truck.

At issue in both the decision to fire Wood and Wood's subsequent lawsuit, is a letter issued to him by Ouray City Administrator Silas Clarke, alleging that more people privately complained about Wood but didn't lodge formal complaints out of fear of retaliation from Wood.

"Recently, people have spoken to me about your behavior and concerns surrounding you, but due to fear of retaliation, they were unwilling to provide formal complaints," the letter read, in part. "From what I could tell, if you had not placed members of the public in fear of reporting, the City may have received more complaints which needed investigation."

Wood, in his lawsuit, called that portion of the letter "defamatory." The statement "impugns Mr. Wood's character and reputation by stating that Jeff Wood uses his official position as the Chief of Police to not only silence his critics through fear but also that as Chief of Police he will undoubtedly retaliate against any person if they make any claims or complaints against Jeff Wood. In other words, Jeff Wood is a corrupt public official," Wood's attorney wrote in the lawsuit.

Wood and his attorney are seeking a jury trial, compensation for lost wages and other legal relief.

The city did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment about the lawsuit on Saturday.