MADRID, Iowa (AP) — City officials have indefinitely tabled a central Iowa mayor’s proposal to fire its police chief. Madrid Police Chief Rick Tasler faces termination after numerous allegations of misconduct. He has been named in multiple federal lawsuits alleging excessive force. The Madrid City Council unanimously voted at a special meeting Thursday to postpone its decision until an investigation of the professional wrongdoing allegations is completed.

Mayor Kurt Kruse had called the meeting to terminate Tasler. Tasler alleges Kruse’s recommendation is political. Glen Downey is the attorney who filed the lawsuits against Tasler. He said at the meeting that Tasler has “zero respect for the Constitution and zero respect for those citizens he believes are not worthy of his protection.” The council’s decision comes days before a special election for the next mayor.