Guthrie Officer In Hot Seat After Man Claims He Was Wrongfully Arrested

A Guthrie Police officer, known for his work busting child sex predators on the internet, finds himself in the hot seat this week.

A man has filed a civil rights claim against the city of Guthrie, saying that officer ordered an unconstitutional arrest on him. He also claims the officer, who is married to the man's ex-wife, is stalking and harassing him.

It's all laid out in this letter sent from that man's attorney to the City of Guthrie.

Oklahoma City attorney Scott Adams, who confirms his office was approached by Lt. Mark Bruning requesting representation, claims a disciplinary board has recommended for Lt. Bruning to be fired as a result.

"What happened was a direct violation of my civil rights," said Kyle White, who is filing the claim against Lt. Bruning and the City of Guthrie.

He states Bruning had him arrested, and taken to jail for public intoxication after the Mumford and Sons concert back on September 7.

White's attorney provided video of White in the jail.

"And there's no telling how many people this has happened to, that they didn't fight it, or they just went on about their business," White said.

White maintains he wasn't drunk, but didn't fight the arrest or cause any trouble while he was in the jail. But he said Lt. Bruning, who is currently married to his ex-wife, has stalked and harassed him several times in the past year.

"He has followed work trucks several times," White said.

White said the citation for the September arrest has been dropped, but said that's not enough.

According to the letter sent to the city of Guthrie, White's attorney claims the arrest, the strip search, and imprisonment of Mr. White were all done without probable cause and says his civil rights were violated.

Now they are demanding $125,000 from the City.

"There's a whole lot of people that are happy about this, because he has bullied quite a few people, and pushed a lot of people around," said White. "And it's unacceptable behavior for a police officer."

News 9 tried to contact Lt. Bruning several times throughout the day requesting a comment from him about the allegation. So far he has refused comment.

According to the Guthrie city manager, Sereniah Breland, Lieutenant Mark Bruning is still employed at the Guthrie Police Department.

But Breeland says they do have an investigation into the civil rights claim.