In a response to a federal lawsuit, the city of Bowling Green and Bowling Green Fire Department Deputy Chief Dustin Rockrohr formally denied allegations made by former firefighter Jeffrey Queen that he faced a hostile work environment because of his atheism.

The response to the lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court by attorney Jason Bell of Elizabethtown, who represents Rockrohr and the city in the civil matter.

Queen, who worked for the fire department from 2011 until May, alleges in his lawsuit that he was treated with hostility by his colleagues and BGFD management after acknowledging his atheism and that he was on the receiving end of anti-gay slurs from firefighters on numerous occasions.

In the lawsuit, which was filed last month, Queen claims he reported his concerns to Rockrohr in 2012 about slurs directed at him and derogatory references to minority groups made by other firefighters, only to be told the following day by Rockrohr that his employment with the BGFD “was not working out.”

The five-page response filed by Bell requests a dismissal of the complaint or for a jury trial, and asserts a number of defenses to Queen’s claims in arguing that the former firefighter is not entitled to relief through the courts.

Bell states in the response that if Queen suffered any legal damages, then they were not caused or brought about by the actions of either Rockrohr or the city. 

Queen also lacks standing to file the lawsuit, according to Bell’s response, which additionally claims that the defendants are entitled to a set-off or credit against any financial judgment obtained against them.

No hearings are currently scheduled regarding this case, according to federal court records.

Queen’s lawsuit contained numerous allegations that he witnessed city firefighters use racial, anti-gay and ethnic slurs to describe different minority groups in the community.

Queen alleges that a firefighter at the Airport Station burned the Quran in front of the fire station while mocking the Muslim call to prayer. The city has acknowledged this incident, saying that the firefighter was placed on administrative leave and subsequently retired.

In his lawsuit, Queen claims he was repeatedly asked by other firefighters and his superior officers to identify his church membership and was “interrogated” in 2012 by a firefighter regarding his religious practices.

Other allegations made by Queen in the lawsuit include being part of a crew in which some members declined to offer medical care to a man experiencing severe chest pain after those members determined that he was gay and hearing a fire department captain say in 2013 that atheists “deserve to burn.”

Rockrohr is accused of telling Queen to “get with the program” if he wanted to continue being a firefighter and of telling Queen to report for a meeting with him and the fire chief in 2012 after Queen reported his concerns to Rockrohr.

The meeting was canceled when Queen agreed to do his best to fit in with colleagues, but Queen alleges in the lawsuit that he was subjected to continuous hostile treatment in the workplace afterward.

Queen filed two anonymous complaints with the BGFD’s human resources department in 2013 and 2014 and filed a complaint using the city’s ethics hotline in 2015, but no apparent action was taken in response, according to the lawsuit.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.