Was man fired by City of Olathe for belonging to motorcycle club?

An Olathe man has filed a lawsuit claiming he was unfairly fired by the city for belonging to a motorcycle club.

Larry Brown’s lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Johnson County District Court and seeks unspecified damages for his termination in October 2016. The lawsuit names as defendants the city, Mayor Michael Copeland, Police Chief Steven Menke, City Manager J. Michael Wilkes and then-chief information officer Shawn Whitcomb.

City officials said they had not yet seen the lawsuit and had no comment. “Mr. Brown alleges that he was terminated from his position with the City of Olathe not because of his failure to pass the additional background check but rather because he belonged to a motorcycle club,” the lawsuit says.