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Former Indiana bailiff sues sheriff over his firing

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) – A former central Indiana bailiff is suing the county’s sheriff, alleging that he was fired because he planned to run for sheriff.

Vernon Jackson had been a security officer at the Delaware County Building in Muncie for about a decade before his firing last year.

His federal lawsuit names Sheriff Ray Dudley and the sheriff’s department and seeks back pay and damages.

Jackson, who’s a Republican, claims he was fired because he told Dudley, who’s a Democrat, that he intended to run for sheriff in 2018. He contends he was the target of “bogus” write-ups for supposed workplace failures and argues that he was dismissed after a “sham” disciplinary hearing last year.

Dudley tells The Star Press that he cannot discuss the ongoing litigation by Jackson.