Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren is being sued by former Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary for defamation and wrongful termination. Singletary and nearly all of the Rochester Police Department command staff resigned last year in response to the Democratic mayor’s response to the death of Daniel Prude in police custody. Warren has experienced her own close brushes with the law during her time in office .
Former police chief sues for $1.5 million
When Singletary announced his intention to resign Warren stepped in to fire him before he had the chance to formally do so.
Now the former police chief is suing the mayor and the city for up to $1.5 million, seeking compensation for defamation and wrongful termination.
Singletary claims that Warren pressured him to lie about the Daniel Prude case and then lied about him publicly when he refused to do so.
Warren claimed at the time of the firing that she had been intentionally deceived by the Rochester Police Department as part of a cover up scheme.
Singletary at the time of his resignation stated that he was a man of integrity who “would not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character”
The city has responded by accusing him of lying about the situation and by claiming that the Rochester Police Department has a history of deception and untruthfulness.
Mayor faces legal troubles
Mayor Warren was defeated in a June primary battle and will be replaced by another Democrat. Her controversies in office contributed much to her loss.
In addition to the handling of the Daniel Prude case Warren has come under scrutiny for some potentially serious illegalities which could make an election defeat the least of her worries.
Earlier this summer her home was raided following a drug investigation which implicated her husband. A large stash of cocaine, firearms, and cash was seized.
The mayor herself is not directly under scrutiny for this but she does face two felony charges related to breaking campaign finance laws.
If convicted Warren could face years in prison and removal from office. These charges emerged shortly before the primary and likely decided the outcome.
Regardless of where all of these cases go from here, Warren clearly faces a number of major legal struggles and her political career has very likely come to an end.
