Complaint No. 1778856909 - 290506336

Mathews v. Butler Community College, longtime art instructor Roger Mathews alleged that Chief James “Tim” Bryan used his authority and position to aggressively pursue criminal accusations against him following a small fire in an art lab, despite Mathews having no disciplinary history in more than 35 years of employment. According to the court record, Chief Bryan treated the art lab as a crime scene, told Mathews he was the “number one suspect,” seized his artwork as evidence, and investigated potential felony charges against him, including theft and public nuisance violations. The court documents further state that Mathews was told he could avoid criminal prosecution if he retired, and that Chief Bryan agreed to hold criminal charges “in abeyance” if Mathews ended his employment. The court noted testimony that this conduct violated Butler Community College policy. Despite the threats of prosecution, Mathews was never criminally charged. The record also reflects allegations that Chief Bryan interfered beyond his authority, including directing maintenance staff not to perform work in Mathews’ classroom area even though Bryan had no supervisory authority over that department. The court ultimately found sufficient evidence of inconsistencies, policy violations, and retaliatory conduct to deny summary judgment and allow the discrimination and retaliation claims to proceed.