Virginia Police Officer Sues City After Being Demoted for Standing Up for Employee Who Claimed She was Discriminated Against

A Black Virginia Beach police officer claims he was investigated and demoted after he tried to assist another Black recruit who believed she was being discriminated against. He has since filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the City of Virginia Beach. According to the plaintiff, he has been a member of the Virginia Beach Police Department since 1997. He was promoted to master police officer in 2003, sergeant in 2016, and had been on the promotion list for lieutenant. In 2021, he was assigned to internal affairs and tasked with investigating complaints against other officers.

In June 2021, the plaintiff said that a Black police lieutenant asked if he’d be willing to speak with a Black probationary police officer who was concerned she wasn’t getting the same training support as her white peers. The plaintiff was known to be an anti-discrimination advocate and mentor to minority recruits, according to the complaint.

The probationary officer told the plaintiff about challenges she was facing with her trainer, a Black male officer. The plaintiff reached out to the precinct’s training supervisor about those concerns on two separate occasions. The lawsuit describes this as a legally protected activity. The conversations were allegedly “cut short” both times. According to the plaintiff, he contacted the training officer and assured him that he wasn’t acting in any official capacity. He only wanted to discuss the recruit’s perceptions of being treated unfairly.

The plaintiff later learned that the training officer filed a complaint against him in which he alleged that the plaintiff had abused his authority. The training officer said that he felt “coerced” to pass the probationary officer in the training process. The probationary officer, however, never completed the training process, according to the lawsuit.

Subsequently, the complaint the training officer filed against the plaintiff led to a series of events that included an investigation resulting in the plaintiff being transferred out of internal affairs, having his access to police headquarters cut off, and being demoted from sergeant to master police officer. This also included a pay cut, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff sought multiple meetings with the heads of departments and filed complaints with the city’s human resources department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In these complaints, he alleged he’d been subjected to a hostile work environment due to his race and retaliation over his efforts to intercede on behalf of the probationary officer.

The EEOC has since issued the plaintiff a right to sue in federal court. The plaintiff is looking to recover compensatory and punitive damages as well as to be returned to the rank of sergeant.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Employment Discrimination Attorney Today 

An employee may not be retaliated against for legally protected activities including filing complaints related to discrimination. If you have been demoted or fired for asserting your rights, you may be able to file an employment discrimination lawsuit. Call the Tampa, FL employment lawyers at Florin Gray Bouzas Owens, LLC today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.