A former Greenwood, Indiana deputy fire marshal has filed suit claiming he was suspended and terminated in retaliation for reporting discriminatory comments about a gay coworker. Deputy Fire Marshal Ryan Angrick filed suit against the Greenwood Fire Department in federal court alleging retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to the complaint, Angrick repeatedly reported comments allegedly made by Fire Marshal Tracy Rumble beginning in March 2024. Angrick claims he was subsequently ostracized, disciplined over his use of a phone to clock in, suspended twice without pay, and terminated in June 2025. Quoting from the complaint:

• Angrick was hired by Defendant as a Deputy Fire Marshall for Defendant on or about April of 2021.
• At all relevant times, Angrick met Defendant’s legitimate expectations of performance.
• On or around March 25, 2024, Angrick formally reported Fire Marshal, Tracy Rumble (“Tracy”) for making unnecessary comments, jokes, quips, and slurs directed at Tyler Swardson, a gay coworker. Chief Jayme Washel assured Angrick that Tracy’s behavior was not to be tolerated and asked that he report any future incidents.
• On or around May 22, 2024, Angrick reported to HR Representative, Lisa Vest, that he had witnessed Tracy continue to make discriminatory comments about Swardson. HR confirmed that there was an ongoing investigation into Tracy’s conduct.
• On or around July 22, 2024, Angrick revisited the issue with Chief Jayme Washel, stating that Tracy continued making homophobic comments. Angrick also explained that he believed Tracy was now “going after him” due to his association with Swardson.
• After the meeting, Tracy told Angrick that he should not interact with Swardson outside of work because he “couldn’t be trusted.” Tracy stated that Swardson would just “play the rainbow card” whenever he was confronted with a work issue, suggesting that his sexual orientation made him somehow less qualified for his position.
• Angrick became increasingly isolated, ostracized by his colleagues, and received unfavorable treatment after he repeatedly opposed the discriminatory conduct targeting his gay coworker.
• On or around September 20, 2024, Angrick met with Deputy Fire Chief Harrell. He expressed that his work environment had become intolerable due to his association with Swardson. Because of this, Angrick admitted he was considering taking FMLA leave.
• That same day, Tracy falsely accused Angrick of manipulating his timekeeping records by improperly clocking in, an accusation that later proved to be false. This prompted Angrick to email Chief Washel and request another meeting.
• On or around October of 2024, after a series of fire prevention presentations at Greenwood elementary schools, Tracy repeatedly expressed his disgust with the idea of Swardson engaging in sexual acts with other men, making offensive and crude comments about homosexual men in general.
• On October 14, 2024, Angrick reported the comments to HR.
• On October 15, 2024, Angrick was issued a Notice of Verbal Warning for alleged noncompliance with the uniform policy and violating Respondent’s timekeeping policy by clocking in on his phone. In the employee comments section of that notice, Angrick wrote, “Did not realize this was an issue, as other GFD employees clock in on their phone.” Mr. Angrick has evidence that the other similarly situated employees clocked in on their phone and had never heard of this policy.
• On or around December 22, 2024, Angrick emailed Chief Washel and Deputy Chief Brad Coy, explaining that Tracy was directly interfering with and undermining his work.
• Angrick had conducted fire inspections at two distinct locations, determining they were not in compliance with the fire code. Shortly thereafter, Tracy undercut Angrick and told the businesses they could ignore his orders, stating “he [Angrick] is NOT the Fire Marshall, I am.”
• Around that same time, Angrick attended a meeting with the Mayor Mark Myers, Chief Washel, and Tracy. Angrick was told by Mayor Myers that he “needed to learn to work with Tracy.” Angrick’s cubicle was briefly located away from Tracy’s, but shortly after, the Deputy Mayor’s Office ordered him to return to his original cubicle, placing him right next to Tracy once again.
• There is no evidence indicating that Respondent has disciplined Tracy, despite its disciplinary policy prohibiting employees from “threatening, coercing, or interfering with fellow employees,” and exhibiting “immoral conduct.”
• On January 16, 2025, Angrick was issued a Notice of Suspension for “Disobedience of orders or insubordination” and “Neglect of Duty,” for allegedly clocking in on his phone. Angrick was suspended without pay for three workdays.
• The Greenwood City Ordinance authorizing GFD’s disciplinary policy explicitly states
• that suspensions are not finalized until the Corporation Counsel (City Attorney) approves the forms. Angrick requested these forms after the 1/16 meeting but never received any
• confirmation that the forms had been approved.
• Uncertain whether his suspension had been formally approved, and with no confirmation from Corporate Counsel, Angrick reported to work on January 21, 2025, to ensure that there would be no appearance that he was improperly absent or neglecting his duties.
• On January 25, 2025, Angrick was issued a Notice of Suspension for disobeying the prior disciplinary action. He was suspended without pay for five days.
• Angrick engaged in protected activities prior to being suspended. Respondent took adverse employment actions against him for his opposition to discrimination and harassment directed at Tyler Swardson.
• Angrick was terminated in June of 2025.
• Defendant’s termination of Angrick was done with intentional, willful, and reckless disregard of Angrick’s protections against discrimination and retaliation under Title VII.

The complaint alleges a single count of retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.