The former superintendent of West Virginia State Police who resigned amid an investigation into the agency has filed a lawsuit against the state and the Department of Homeland Security.
Former superintendent Jan L. Cahill’s lawsuit, filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court, alleges that conditions within the agency became so bad prior to his 2023 resignation that he was forced to resign, referred to legally as constructive discharge. Eyewitness News said, in the lawsuit, Cahill claims he was pressured to resign amid allegations and an investigation into corruption and misconduct within the agency. He also alleges that he faced retaliation for reporting concerns over the handling of CARES Act expenses to the governor, referred to in the lawsuit as whistleblower retaliation. The lawsuit claims former chief of staff Brian Abraham allegedly suggested attributing West Virginia State Police’s payroll to COVID expenses.
Cahill worked as a trooper from 1989 until 2012. He was appointed as superintendent of West Virginia State Police in January 2017. The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages and a trial by jury.