A broad investigation into the Mooresville Police Department working environment has led to the resignation of the police chief and demotions of two in his command staff. But now the town has turned its attention to the captain who first shined a spotlight on the matter, sending him a notice of dismissal on Friday.

The town intends to fire David Call, captain of the MPD Criminal Investigations Division, who filed the hostile work environment claim that led to the $225,000 taxpayer-funded MPD investigation.

Though the town hasn’t issued an official press statement, at least two media outlets have reported that the town told them its intent to fire Call.

That doesn’t sit well with Call’s attorney, William Hill of Frazier, Hill and Fury RLLP in Greensboro. “We’re disappointed that someone chose to release it,” he said in a phone conversation with the Scoop this afternoon. “I think it shows that the town has made up its mind and that the appeal process – in this case, at least – is a hoax.

“They wouldn’t be releasing the information if they had any inclination to change their mind.”

Hill plans to file an appeal with the town on Call’s behalf tomorrow. He said his client has a strong case against the town if it continues down this path. “It seems apparent he was targeted,” Hill said. “He complained about a hostile work environment. They turned it around and pointed the barrel right at him and pulled the trigger.”

The town plans to dismiss Call “essentially for speaking with the mayor and board of commissioners about concerns about how the police department was handling an investigation,” Hill said.

“Our position is this: if you have concerns about things that are happening within the police department, I’m pretty sure you should try to speak to the elected officials of that government entity. That is protected by the First Amendment.”

Additionally, the town accuses Call of “getting involved in another investigation in which he had concerns over how it was going forward and the legalities of it,” said Hill. “He, of course, is captain of CID, and that was his job.”

Hill said the recently completed US ISS Agency investigation into MPD’s working environment is “flawed” and he has witnesses ready to prove it. “(Investigators) found there was no hostile work environment, but we have, for example, a witness that was interviewed by ISS who wanted to share information relative to what ISS was asking, and ISS investigators shut them down and said they didn’t want to hear it.”

The investigation, Hill said, “reaches a conclusion unsupported by available evidence.”