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DC Police Officer Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Ten current and former officers of the Washington DC police department have filed a class action lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
- Why: Plaintiffs allege they faced sexual and racial discrimination while on the MPD spanning more than two decades.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Washington DC federal court.
Black female officers in Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were subjected to years of sexual and racial discrimination while on duty, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Ten current and former DC police officers have joined the class action lawsuit which alleges sex and race discrimination, threats of retaliation, and a hostile workplace for a period spanning over two decades and at least three police chiefs, reports the Washington Post.
Five of the plaintiffs are current members of the force, while three say they were forced to leave the department, reports NBC News.
Plaintiffs say the abuse and discrimination they faced was so bad it negatively affected their physical and mental health, reports CNN.
One plaintiff, Officer Tabatha Knight, says she began legally recording her meetings with supervisors to protect herself from false accusations, but, after being found out, she was threatened with a four-week suspension, according to CNN.
Knight alleges that instances have occurred where a male officer has urinated in a plastic bottle while in a vehicle with a female officer, stuck his tongue in a female officer’s mouth, and grabbed a female officer’s backside, reports Fox 5 DC.
Another plaintiff claims she reported a male employee who worked for the DC governments Department of General Services for intentionally walking in on her while she was showering in a locker room for females, reports the Washington Post. The plaintiff was reportedly put on investigation by the department for making the complaint.
Reports of DC Police Department Discrimination Ignored
“We reported these things to management, to our (Equal Employment Opportunity), and we were ignored,” said Knight, at a press conference last week, reports NPR. “The worst of it, we were labeled as troublemakers, angry Black women. And I’m here to say that we are not angry black women, are tired women. And no one should have to endure what we did.”
Plaintiffs are seeking $100 million in compensatory damages and requesting someone be appointed to oversee an overhaul of the DC Police Department.
The MPD is not the only police department to come under fire recently. A class action lawsuit was filed earlier this month against the Chicago Police Department alleging it violates the rights of Latinx and Black individuals with its stop-and-frisk procedures.
Are you a female police officer who has experienced racial or sexual discrimination while at work? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Donald M. Temple and Pamela M. Keith of the Law Offices of Donald M. Temple.
The DC Police Officers Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Sinobia N. Brinkley v. District of Columbia, Case No. 1:21-cv-01537, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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