Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 29, 2022 / 10:50 am (CNA).
The city of Louisville, Ky., is paying a local police officer a $75,000 settlement after he was suspended for praying outside an abortion clinic, according to the firm representing him.
Officer Matthew Schrenger was off-duty when he stopped to pray with his father on the public sidewalk outside the EMW Women’s Surgical Center nearly a year ago, on Feb. 20, according to the Thomas More Society. Schrenger arrived in the early morning, before the abortion provider opened, as part of 40 Days for Life, an international grassroots campaign dedicated to ending abortion through prayer and fasting.
Matt Heffron, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, previously said that Schrenger, a 13-year police veteran, was praying the rosary, according to the local Fox affiliate, WDRB News.
For his actions, Schrenger was suspended for more than four months with pay, stripped of his police powers, and placed under investigation, a Jan. 27 press release by the Thomas More Society read.
According to a letter last June obtained by WDRB News, the Louisville Metro Police Department expressed concern that Schrenger wore his full uniform while participating in “protest activity,” but acknowledged that he attempted to cover it up with his coat.
Surveillance video obtained by WDRB showed Schrenger praying and walking outside of the clinic for an estimated 45 minutes and carrying a “pray to end abortion” sign at one point, the outlet reported.
The settlement comes three months after Schrenger sued the city’s mayor, police chief, and police department in a federal lawsuit filed by the Thomas More Society with Blaine Blood, a Louisville attorney, in October.
Schrenger’s attorney, Heffron, called the city’s actions against the 13-year police veteran “a significant and inexcusable violation of a loyal officer’s Constitutional rights.”
“The unfair discipline revealed undeniably content-based discrimination against Officer Schrenger’s personal pro-life views and violated his First Amendment rights,” Heffron said. “He did not engage in any political protest on duty – he prayed quietly. Yet Officer Schrenger was punished for this peaceful, private behavior.”
He accused the police department of a double standard.
“The treatment of Officer Schreger was particularly galling considering other Louisville police officers previously had marched, while on-duty and in uniform, in political protests that apparently were approved by the police department,” he said. “He was treated very differently than other officers who had undeniably engaged in true political protest and activism while participating in LGBT and Black Lives Matter demonstrations.”
According to the Thomas More Society, open-records requests showed that those other officers faced no suspension or any kind of discipline whatsoever.
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God bless Officer Schrenger and the Thomas More Society for fighting back.
I would say the Louisville PD got off easy.
This kind of thing — being fired for exercising your Constitutional and human rights — never used to happen in the country where I grew up (America).
We should all stand up like Officer Schrenger and speak out before our country descends into utter barbarisms. Herod had babies slaughtered and is still remembered with horror in our time…Biden and Planned Parenthood and others like them promote the mass slaughter of human babies up until a moment before a healthy live birth…and they are free and encouraged to do so. It’s time we speak up for life…all life with no reservations. If we do not cry out against these slaughters of human babies then we are complicit in their deaths. Silence means consent.
Bravo to Officer Schrenger and bravo to the Thomas More Society for fighting this in court.
Gilberta
The most telling thing is that the Louisville police department apparently approved the officers’ actions who marched for “woke” causes, ie., BLM and LGBTQ. Maybe supporters of pro-life should find a way to use the alphabet to represent their beliefs.
Kudos to the Thomas More Society for supporting Officer Schrenger. Actions like this are why I’m happy I’ve been contributing to the Thomas More Society in recent years.
Nice!! I am just sorry he didnt win a much larger award, which would have served as a starker warning that the city not do this again to others. Bravo to the Thomas More Society as well for taking up these causes. I have donated to this organization for some time, as should all Catholics who are horrified at the injustices which are now routinely happening in our society. This case of Officer Schrenger is only one of many such injustices. Another case they have taken up is of the videographer in California who taped Planned parenthood ghouls taking about what they planned to do with the money they would earn off of dismembered babies. This videographer is charged with MANY crimes just for taping them, by a BLUE state which do doubt no longer recognizes freedom of speech. Disgusting. Donate to the Thomas More Society. Ditto, donate to politicians who are running for office and represent your moral point of view, whether or not they are the reps for your particular state. If you are politically outnumbered where you live and swim in a sea of blue, provide your financial support to candidates or organizations elsewhere! Silencing opposing points of view is NOT acceptable! Don’t let the George Soros types decide how the rest of us will live just because they have the cash to BUY elections!!!