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Craig Smith, in a lawsuit in ӣ����Ƶ County Circuit Court, accuses Manchester of multiple due process law violations as part of a conspiracy to oust him and former Chief Scott Will and replace them.

The city threatened to fire Smith and charge him with criminal acts if he didn’t resign but never provided him information about the allegations or gave him a chance to defend himself, the suit says.

The lawsuit claims Manchester officials reneged on an agreement to allow Smith to resign in good standing and collect benefits but offered to clear his record and pay him the money if he made false negative statements about Will.

Smith refused, and 11 other police departments passed him over for “commensurate” jobs because Manchester claimed he had quit while under investigation, the suit says.

Manchester Mayor Mike Clement and City Administrator Justin Klocke said the city would defend itself against Smith’s allegations but declined further comment. Police Chief Ed Skaggs could not immediately be reached.

The lawsuit comes a year after Manchester announced that Smith, a 27-year veteran of the department, had resigned without explanation and that Will, chief since 2019, was placed on administrative leave pending an independent investigation. Will resigned in August under an agreement with the city that allowed him to collect salary and benefits. He was replaced by Skaggs, a 35-year veteran of the department.

But Smith says Manchester denied him a similar agreement.

Smith, who was promoted to captain in 2019, supervised dozens of officers and served as Will’s deputy. He was the subject of a “minor” disciplinary action in 1999 but otherwise had an exemplary record, according to his lawsuit.

In March 2024, Smith was notified the city had launched a third-party investigation into complaints that were “non-criminal” and “primarily minor leadership issues” and that he would be given a chance to defend himself in an interview, the suit says.

The complaints alleged Smith created a “hostile” work environment, improperly delegated administrative tasks and lied to the chief but did not provide him details of any incidents, according to copies filed as part of the lawsuit. The documents alleged unnamed officers threatened to leave Manchester if Smith became chief after Will.

Five months later, investigators told the police union’s attorney that they “had enough evidence to file criminal charges against Smith” and demanded he resign within a few days. In a separate conversation, Will, the chief, told Smith that Klocke, city administrator, had confirmed the allegations.

Smith then resigned “under pressure of losing his entire life’s work” and “without an interview, a hearing, or anything that resembled due process.”

On Will’s last day before he resigned, another police sergeant told him that Skaggs, then a lieutenant, and a second lieutenant had started the investigation into Will and Smith to try to get them removed so that they could be promoted.

Will reported to the Missouri Peace Officer’s Standards and Training Commission that Smith resigned in good standing, but Skaggs, after he became chief, altered Smith’s record to show he “resigned under investigation,” the suit says.

The city denied Smith’s Sunshine requests in October for his personnel files and for a copy of the investigation preventing him getting a new job and claimed the files were closed records.

Smith was hired in January by Washington, Missouri, police, according to public records. His attorney, Tim Lohmar, former St. Charles County prosecuting attorney, said Tuesday that Smith’s “distinguished” career was “ruined by frivolous and petty allegations that were never fully investigated by the city of Manchester, and that ultimately denied my client of his due process rights.”

Will, former chief, could not be reached.