City faces four claims

During Tuesday’s meeting Portland City Council member Dave Golden asked a question regarding the cost of insurance, as it related to the proposed 2026 city budget.

Clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips responded that it is not looking good, in part because of the number of tort claims currently filed against the city.

That number — four.

All of those tort claims name the City of Portland or its police department, with some also naming Mayor Jeff Westlake, Police Chief Dustin Mock, assistant police chief Donnie Miller or investigator Jeff Hopkins. Others named in at least one claim include Jay County Probation Office and probation office employee Ashley Reynolds.

Some of the claims have been amended or have had supplemental and additional allegations added.

Two previous tort claims are no longer active.

None of the claims state an amount of damages being sought, with most indicating that the complainants are continuing to be harmed by the alleged conduct.

Clayton Lengerich of Miller, Burry & Brown of Decatur is representing all of the complainants.

“My position is that all of my clients have complaints,” said Lengerich on Thursday morning. “I think that all of them have verifiable evidence supporting each of their claims.”

Westlake had not responded with a comment on the tort claims as of press time.

A tort claim is a formal court filing that alleges personal injury or property damage and seeks compensation. Under Indiana law, a written notice of tort claim must be filed before suing a government entity.

As of Thursday, only a claim filed by Phillips had advanced to the level of a lawsuit. The most recent action in those proceedings came last month when Douglas Mawhorr of Delaware Circuit Court 3 accepted jurisdiction as a special judge for Phillips’ case.

In court documents for the Phillips tort claim, Clark Johnson & Knight of Carmel is listed as counsel for Portland Police Department, Mock and Hopkins, and R. Jeffrey Lowe from Kightlinger and Gray of New Albany for the City of Portland.

The following is a breakdown of each claim:

Phillips filed a claim on April 23, alleging that she has been the focus of “torment, harassment and defamation” by the city’s police department.

It alleges that:

•Mock ordered that Phillips not be allowed access to the police radio/dispatch area at city hall

•Hopkins and Mock both threatened her on various occasions

•Mock and Hopkins reviewed and distributed video footage of Phillips exercising in the city’s exercise room and that those recordings included her private telephone conversations

•The police chief published disparaging and defamatory statements to an individual installing security systems in city facilities

Mock and others filed a complaint of harassment against Phillips in early 2024. Following an investigation by city attorney Wes Schemenaur, the board of works found “no violation of harassment or violations of city codes.” No further details regarding the complaint were provided during the meeting.

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Former Portland police officer Patrick Long alleges a long list of incidents of harassment and other issues in an initial tort claim filed Jan. 8 and supplemental and additional claims filed July 31 and Aug. 7.

His allegations include that:

•He faced attempts of coercion and threats regarding an Indiana State Police investigation of Portland Police Department by Hopkins. The claim alleges that while speaking to Long, Hopkins said “shut up … or I will [expletive]-ing murder you.”

•Mock asked him to misrepresent facts if he was questioned as part of an investigation regarding a dispute between Portland Police Department and another city office

•The leadership of the police department disregarded department policy on various occasions

•Westlake agreed that the police department was using policies and ordinances to “get him out” of the department and that the approach was not uncommon

•Portland police leadership interfered with the process of Long applying to work for another department

Long took a job with Winchester Police Department in late 2024.

In January, Portland Board of Works voted unanimously to file suit against Long seeking reimbursement of $14,977 for training at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

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Brad Clayton, former superintendent of the city’s wastewater treatment department, filed a tort claim on April 23. It alleges that wastewater department superintendent Brad Dues berated him during a dispute about whether he had been smoking in a non-smoking area. It says that the situation escalated and Dues “physically ‘belly bumped’” Clayton.

The claim says city representatives, including the mayor, spread misinformation about Clayton and his job performance.

It also says allegations made during the Dec. 17, 2024, board of works meeting regarding his work, attitude and missed time were untrue and unsubstantiated.

At that meeting, Phillips reported that Clayton had been working for another department while taking time off from Portland. Dues also provided a letter to the board of works regarding the situation. Phillips also noted communication issues between Clayton and Dues, and Westlake said he had consulted with city attorney Wes Schemenaur and he agreed there were grounds for termination based on city ordinance and policies. The board of works voted unanimously to terminate Clayton’s employment.

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In February, Portland police officer Kyle Denney filed a claim alleging that Westlake published statements that included allegations of misconduct against him. The claim says the statements came after a situation in which Westlake visited the scene of a police response in early 2024. An amendment to his claim says Westlake reiterated his statements early this year.

It also alleges that Reynolds made defamatory statements to Denney’s superiors at the police department, including that he would sleep in his car while on duty.

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Tort claims filed by former Portland police officer Chris Jack and Angel Cox, who was a Jay County Sheriff’s Office employee, in June 2024 are no longer active.