CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Two additional black officers from the Chillicothe Police Department have filed claims against their employer for allegations of racial mistreatment.
The two new officers — who the Guardian is not naming — filed complaints with the state in the last 14 days alleging their skin color has made them a target by the city’s administration. It comes after a third officer has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit.
One officer wrote in their complaint to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission that they are left alone at dangerous scenes by themselves by officers and supervisors who make racially insensitive comments. Another black officer wrote in their complaint that they have been denied promotions, subjected to racist comments and gestures, and have been denied training opportunities and promotions.
The two recent filings come as a third officer filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the fall alleging similar allegations: that he was targeted, denied promotions and trainings, and subjected to racial comments because of the color of his skin.
The process of filing with the state’s civil rights commission will afford the officers an opportunity to get a “right to sue” letter, which is required by federal court rules. In the process, the state will investigate and determine if they feel the city conducted any wrongdoing before the case is officially filed with the court.
With the two filings this month against the city, more than two-thirds of Chillicothe’s black police force has civil rights complaints or lawsuits filed against the police department. Almost half of the black police force is suspended while an internal affairs investigation is underway; the city alleges two black officers conspired together to write a police report to aide in a custody dispute of another officer. Lawyers representing some of the officers said the suspensions and internal investigations came after the first lawsuit was filed and is an attempt to further harass the African Americans.
“These officers are suspended because they spoke up,” said Brittany Smith of the NAACP. “This witch-hunt is disguised as wrongdoing by the officers but this is nothing more than an attempt to further harass and assassinate the careers of black officers by Mayor Luke Feeney, Chief Ron Meyers, and Safety Director Jeff Carman.”
WespBarwell and BKD Legal are the firms representing some of the officers. The two firms have taken on municipalities before and won historic cases. Most recently, the duo won a trial against the City of Circleville for more than $3 million in a case involving discrimination against a female firefighter.
“In CPD, there is no fair and equal treatment to minorities especially when it comes to training, opportunity, and advancement. Non-minority — such as white male officers and supervisors — also see the unequal treatment and make comments weekly about this to the minority officers. The other minority officers are afraid to step up and jeopardize their livelihood,” the firms said.
Brian Duncan, one of the lead attorneys on the case added, “Our primary goal is to ensure that [the officer] is compensated for the injustices he has been subjected to throughout his tenure with the Chillicothe Police Department. Further, and more importantly, we hope this matter continues to shed light on the systemic issues that continue to plague not only African-Americans, but also other similarly situated minorities in the workplace, and, specifically, as the same relates to law enforcement and first responders.”
Requests for comment by the Guardian from Mayor Luke Feeney and police chief Ron Meyers have gone unreturned.
