Prayer

Police Officer Stripped of Duties Due to Prayer

At 6 am on February 20th in Louisville, Kentucky, the streets are dark and cold. Two men, a father, and a son meet on the public sidewalk and bow their heads in prayer. Afterward, the younger of the two leaves to prepare for his shift as a Louisville Police Officer.

Officer Matt Schenger was stripped of his duties due to that prayer. Matt reported for duty only to be locked out of his work computers, removed from the patrol schedule, and relieved of his vehicle.

Prayer Is Illegal But Protesting Isn’t?

On October 4, 2021, a federal lawsuit was filed. The Thomas More Society attorneys litigating the suit claim that Officer Schenger’s civil, and constitutional rights, have been violated by the Louisville Metro Police Department.

A quiet, off-duty prayer, on a public sidewalk, resulted in Officer Matt Schrenger being immediately suspended for over four months, stripped of his police powers, and placed under investigation. No one should be treated the way the Louisville police chief and city government treated one of their finest, but it’s particularly awful because they punished him for praying, of all things…and while off duty, no less.” Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Matt Heffron stated.

In today’s America, justice no longer means blind and impartial. Officer Schrenger went to a sidewalk prayer with his father. He was in plain clothes and on his own time. Nothing about his appearance identified him as a police officer of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

However, in the attorney’s research, it was uncovered that multiple police officers, while on duty and in uniform, participated in LGBTQ parades and Black Lives Matter Protests. Officer Schrenger’s true crime was that he prayed on a public sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic. His politics and belief system clashing dangerously with the Leftist ideology that now runs our federal and local governments.

Officer Schrenger, a 13-year veteran and decorated police officer, was wrongly accused of violating Kentucky law and LMPD operating procedures. Chief Sheilds admitted to such in a letter dated June 15, 2021. The letter states that none of the allegations are sustainable. It took the Police Department more than four months to restore Officer Schrenger’s police powers.

A second suit has been filed along with the Thomas More Societies. The lawsuit, filed by Louisville employment attorney Blaine Blood, names the Police Chief, Mayor, and the City of Louisville. Blood states that their actions violate the Free Exercise Clause and Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. Also, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Amended, and the Kentucky Civil Rights Act.

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