(SitNews) - Officer Randall McLellan, President of the Alaska Correctional Officers Association, filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of Alaska against the Alaska Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Schmidt and Department of Corrections Director of Institutions Bryan Brandenburg.  

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges violations of Officer McLellan’s civil rights under section 1983 of the federal civil rights act (42 United States Code sec. 1983).  The Complaint alleges that for more than five years, Department of Corrections Commissioner Schmidt and Department of Corrections Director of Institutions Brandenburg, have orchestrated a systematic course of harassment and persecution of Officer McLellan for his advocacy on behalf of the Alaska Correctional Officers Association, its members, and the inmate population in Alaska.  

The Complaint further alleges that the defendants kept a secret personnel file on Officer McLellan, instructed Officers to “watch” him, targeted him for unfair discipline, denied him business leave that was needed for him to carry out his union responsibilities, denied him assignment to positions in favor of other Officers with less seniority and who lacked proper training, and demoted him from Sergeant to Correctional Officer II.  

The Complaint also alleges the defendants forced Officer McLellan and his shift to be pepper sprayed in the face as a part of “retraining,” when in reality the retraining was punishment for his advocacy as the ACOA President. According to the Complaint, it is unprecedented to pepper spray an Officer as a part of re-training. The Complaint alleges that Officers should not be pepper sprayed after their initial training.

Officer McLellan is represented by David Shoup of Tindall Bennett & Shoup.

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Ketchikan, Alaska

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