Britt City Council fires police chief after lawsuit

BRITT — After filing a sexual harassment lawsuit, Britt’s police chief has been fired. The Britt City Council last week held a closed session and then voted unanimously to fire Police Chief Mark Anderson.

Anderson recently filed a lawsuit against the city, accusing Mayor Ryan Arndorfer and then city councilman Chad Luecht of subjecting him to inappropriate sexual comments and graphic sexual messages from 2017 to early 2020.

The city of Britt and Arndorfer have filed a response to the lawsuit, stating they deny Anderson’s claims.

The city states that it lacks sufficient control or authority over elected officials, such as the mayor and city council, to be held liable for their actions.

Arndorfer states that he went to school with Anderson and they were friends, but he denies the sexual harassment allegations. Arndorfer admits there was a group text chat that he was included in, but Arndorfer says the messages sent to and from everyone, including Anderson, were adult in content that adult friends may share, and Anderson was a full participant in the messaging among friends.

A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 7th in Hancock County District Court to schedule a trial date.