EVERETT — A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit filed against Everett by three police officers who alleged they were denied promotions based on their race and subjected to a hostile work environment when they complained.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones issued his decision earlier this month. The city argued that the officers failed to provide enough evidence to support their claims and to move forward with a trial.
“There is not a shred of evidence that the City of Everett has ever treated any of the plaintiffs differently because of their race. They weren’t. Instead, what is happening here is that the plaintiffs are disappointed that they did not receive promotions they sought,” the city’s attorney, James Sanders, wrote in court papers.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Sgt. Manuel Garcia, former Sgt. Richard Wolfington and officer Sherman Mah.
Garcia is the first Hispanic and bilingual officer in the city. He started in 1988 and became a sergeant in 2002. Mah is Chinese-American and has been with Everett since 1995. Wolfington is Native American and claimed he was forced to quit in 2013 after 20 years with the department.
The lawsuit alleged that city leaders knew the men were being mistreated but failed to take any action.
Along with the city, Capt. David Fudge and former Police Chief Kathy Atwood were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
“The City of Everett works hard to ensure that all of our employees are treated fairly and in accordance with the law, and Judge Jones’ ruling is a nice confirmation of all the hard work we have done to maintain a diverse workplace where everyone is judged on their merits,” spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke said Wednesday.
The lawsuit was filed in January 2014 in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Since then lawyers have deposed numerous police officers, including current Chief Dan Templeman, Atwood and Fudge.
Garcia claimed he was demoted from lieutenant after his six-month probation period because of unreasonable expectations. He said Fudge demanded more from him than from white lieutenants. He claimed he was the only officer in decades to be demoted immediately after the probationary period. He alleged white officers were given extensions or a change in supervisors.
The judge concluded that the city provided legitimate reasons why Garcia was demoted, including missing deadlines and not responding to email from his supervisors.
Garcia, on the other hand, failed to identify examples of discrimination related to his demotion.
“The absence of this type of specific evidence is fatal to his claim,” Jones wrote.
The sergeant’s opinion that his performance was satisfactory didn’t meet the legal standards to go forward with a trial, the judge wrote.
Evaluations show that Garcia was a strong candidate for promotion, and “there is no question that Mr. Garcia was and continues to be a valuable public servant,” Jones wrote.
The court said Fudge could have done more to mentor Garcia and the department could have used better methods to assist Garcia.
The city admitted that Garcia has strong community relations skills and his outreach efforts have led to a better police department.
“The court wholeheartedly agrees,” Jones wrote. “Unfortunately, the court does not sit as a super personnel department and cannot dictate the department’s decisions.”
The judge also found that city provided legitimate reasons why Mah wasn’t promoted to sergeant. Jones also concluded that the city wasn’t required to promote Mah under civil service rules. They police chief has discretion to chose one of the three top ranked candidates.
Wolfington failed to provide evidence that his working conditions were intolerable when he left in 2013, Jones wrote. The lawsuit alleged that Fudge retaliated against Wolfington when he reported that Fudge was in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate female officer.
The judge concluded that Wolfington failed to provide proof that Fudge knew about Wolfington’s report. The judge also found that Wolfington failed to show that he was skipped over for promotions because of his race. Atwood, the former chief, testified that she didn’t know he was Native American. Wolfington didn’t provide any evidence to contradict her testimony, the judge wrote.
Bellevue attorney Benjamin Compton, of Vreeland Law, said Wednesday that his clients are considering whether to appeal the decision. Both Garcia and Mah are now assigned to patrol.
The court’s opinion that the officers cannot prove discrimination doesn’t change the fact that the officers weren’t promoted despite their experience, qualifications and rankings on civil service evaluations, Compton and lead attorney Victoria Vreeland wrote in a statement to The Herald.
“Discrimination may be hard to actually prove even when we see and feel it. Our clients have seen and felt it at the Everett Police Department,” they wrote.
The lawyers said their clients should be commended for making the issue public. It showed there were few police officers in leadership positions who “actually look like the diverse public they are charged with protecting,” the lawyers wrote.
The city’s lawyers have asked the judge to award them about $10,500 to cover the costs of depositions.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
