BALLWIN, Mo. – Douglass Schaeffler, who formerly served as the Ballwin Police Chief before he was fired last month, has filed a lawsuit against the city.

Schaeffler was placed on paid leave in October and terminated in a closed-door meeting in December, both happening at the time without much explanation to media members.

His lawsuit, filed on Jan. 5, claims that he was “wrongfully” fired and that city employees and aldermen conspired to remove him.

The lawsuit contends that some employees within the Ballwin Police Department and filed complaints against him “in a coordinated, planned, and premeditated fashion” last September.

During that time, according to the lawsuit, one member of Ballwin’s Board of Alderman made a criminal complaint against the mayor and a former city administrator. Schaeffler claims he had a reason to believe there was a violation, but he followed proper protocol and handed the investigation over to another department.

The lawsuit alleges that the City of Ballwin took disciplinary action “in retaliation for disclosing the foregoing and/or Chief Schaeffler’s refusal to exonerate the parties.”

A city attorney reportedly sent Schaeffler a notice in November there would be a hearing to consider his removal as the police chief.

According to the lawsuit, leading up to his removal, the city claimed that Schaeffler violated policy by buying alcohol while on duty or in uniform, misused the REJIS system in obtaining information, and linked him to harassment within the department.

The lawsuit claims the City of Ballwin did not provide any factual support for alcohol and REJIS allegations, and his hearing did not disclose what specific policies he violated.

The lawsuit argues that the city deprived Schaeffler “of his right to due process by conducting a sham hearing devoid of the procedural protections guaranteed to him.”

Ballwin Mayor Tim Pogue shared the following statement, in part, on the lawsuit Friday via Facebook:

“It is disheartening to hear the baseless allegations against the City of Ballwin from former Chief Schaeffler. We had hoped to move forward as a City from Schaeffler’s tenure as chief, but now are left using taxpayer money to fight a frivolous lawsuit.

Pogue adds that the city hired an outside investigator to review allegations against Schaeffler in late October and allowed due process.

Schaeffler was hired to lead the department in 2019. Before he was fired, he collected checks for nearly two months while on leave.

NOTE: Video attached to the story above is FOX 2’s December 2023 report on the firing of Schaeffler as police chief.