Rincon City Attorney Raymond Dickey is dismissive about former police chief Michael Berry’s complaint against the city.

Berry filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against the city on Feb. 26, stating his decision to hire a female officer and his unwillingness to fire her led to his dismissal on Sept. 10, 2008.

Dickey said the merit of the complaint is “absolutely none, positively none.”

“It’s an egregious abuse of the system for him to have filed something so frivolous,” Dickey said.

In his complaint, Berry said then-city manager Donald Toms told him in early June not to hire a female officer.

“(Toms) told me not to hire this female officer because he did not want any drama issues dealing with sex and he wanted all male officers,” Berry said in his formal complaint. “He reluctantly allowed me to hire her.”

Berry also said that city clerk Wanda Hendrix told him to fire that officer “if I wanted to keep my job.”

Berry was suspended four days later and fired on Sept. 10 for failing to obey a direct order.

Dickey said Toms and Hendrix “flatly denied” the allegations in the complaint occurred.

Berry is suing the suit for violating the state open meeting statues and the city has countersued, claiming the former chief destroyed city property.