Former Norway Police Chief James A. Preacher has filed a $30,000 lawsuit against his former employer, alleging that the town never paid him for several hundred hours of overtime.

Preacher had no comment on the lawsuit.

The suit claims Preacher worked 356 hours of uncompensated overtime between October 2006 and June 2007. His attorneys say Norway owes him approximately $10,309.76.

Under a South Carolina statute, Preacher is allowed to sue for three times that amount plus attorney fees, raising the suit to in excess of $30,000.

He is represented by the Moncks Corner-based Seaton Law Firm, which filed the suit on April 24.

Preacher was also employed as Norway’s water and sewer systems manager until he was relieved of that duty in 2006 by Mayor Brad Fogle.

Fogle could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

Preacher was fired as police chief by Fogle last July, via a handwritten letter, after 17 years on the job. At the time of Preacher’s dismissal, the suit claims he sought the overtime compensation but never received any payment.

Among other things, Fogle’s letter of termination to Preacher suggested that he: insulted town employees, used his police vehicle for personal errands and did not work traffic duty enough.

Preacher denied all the allegations, saying his ouster was planned all along by Fogle.

The firing caused controversy in the small town last summer. Approximately 200 supporters of Preacher held a protest rally just days after he was fired, hailing him as the town’s loyal protector. Other Norway residents painted Preacher as an intimidating man who did things his own way.

Preacher is currently the police chief in Ehrhardt.

n T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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