DuPage Sheriff Retaliated Against Sergeant Over Bias Complaint: Lawsuit

ELMHURST, IL – A former DuPage County sheriff's sergeant claims in a federal lawsuit that he was fired after he filed a discrimination complaint against a superior.

Earlier this week, Brian Pufundt sued Sheriff James Mendrick, the county, and the panel that is involved in the hiring, firing and disciplining of officers. He was fired in March.

Pufundt, who is Hispanic, said his May 24, 2025, complaint was about a lieutenant who he claimed treated white deputies better than those who are Hispanic or African American.

The sheriff's office did not return a message for comment left on Wednesday.

Pufundt said he wrote in the complaint that the lieutenant told him to be "super vigilant" when supervising certain deputies, singling out one who is African American.

In the lawsuit, Pufundt said he noted instances in the complaint that the lieutenant denied Asian, Hispanic and African American deputies opportunities to improve their promotion prospects.

That included "unreasonably" preventing such deputies from making significant arrests and denying their requests for training, he said.

Pufundt, who was with the agency for 15 years, also said he pointed out an instance in which the lieutenant did not discipline a white officer for committing policy violations that would have triggered formal discipline for nonwhite deputies.

Pufundt also accused the lieutenant of asking a deputy to lie in a police report and driving 100 mph on a public road to clean his vehicle's fuel injectors.

Less than three weeks after his complaint, Sheriff Mendrick put Pufundt on paid leave. In a letter, the sheriff said the leave was pending an investigation into "an incident that took place on May 24, 2025," according to the lawsuit.

The letter characterized the incident as a memo submitted "through the chain of command referencing allegations of discrimination, harassment and a hostile work environment," the lawsuit said.

Two months later, Mendrick placed Pufundt on unpaid leave.

In March, the Merit Commission, the panel that handles firings, deemed Pufundt's complaint false and ordered him terminated, the lawsuit said.

The commission said it made its decision in spite of Pufundt's record. That record includes achievement awards, good performance evaluations and a "pristine" disciplinary record, according to the lawsuit.

In its decision, the commission said Pufundt acknowledged many of the allegations in his complaint were made without verifying any facts. Rather, he based his conclusions on hearsay and rumors, the panel said.

The lawsuit contended Pufundt engaged in protected activity and that the sheriff participated in unlawful retaliation.

"(A)n employee who complains internally about discrimination or other unlawful conduct is not required to prove his complaints to keep his job," the lawsuit said. "Plaintiffs' good-faith complaints about his supervisor's illegal actions and unlawful discrimination are protected under (the law)."

Pufundt is represented by attorneys Christopher Wilmes and Justin Tresnowski.