Three officers say they endured racism working for Maryland State Police. They’re suing
Three troopers say they endured racism and discrimination while working for the Maryland State Police, and other officers of color have too.
They filed a class-action lawsuit against the police force on Oct. 24, detailing patterns of harassment — including racist comments and symbols in the workplace — harsh discipline, denials of promotions, and retaliation that white officers have not faced, according to a complaint. Two of the three troopers currently work for the State Police and the third was fired in 2019.
This comes three months after the Department of Justice announced it was investigating the Maryland State Police to assess whether it has “engaged in racially discriminatory hiring and promotion practices” in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to a July 15 news release.
The lawsuit demands a trial by jury and seeks compensation, including for losses of income and damages for emotional distress, the complaint states. It also aims to have officers reinstated, including one of the plaintiffs, if they were fired as a result of complaining about discrimination.
A Maryland State Police spokesperson said in a statement to McClatchy News that the complaint is under review and the department is unable to comment on the allegations.
“Significant actions have been taken and are continuing to address even the perception of racism or unfair treatment of any kind,” the statement said.
Michal Shinnar, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, told McClatchy News in a statement that they “look forward to litigating this case and making sure Officers of Color at the MSP are treated fairly and holding the MSP responsible for their actions.”
The case
Maryland State Police is accused of allowing a hostile working conditions in subjecting its officers to racism and not taking action against it.
One example given by the troopers was how, during a training, state police officers had to shoot at a paper dummy that had a “black face and ‘Afro wig,’” according to the complaint.
Meanwhile, one of the plaintiffs — a former Maryland State Police trooper who is a Black Puerto Rican woman and was ultimately fired — says she endured different instances of racism, including how an officer told her it was not a “big deal” to use racial slurs, the complaint states.
Another instance included how she was tidying up a police barrack and was told “MSP should hire her as the cleaning staff,” according to the complaint. She understood this comment as implying she “was more suited for janitorial work than work as an MSP officer because she was Hispanic.”
In a separate instance, another plaintiff, a Black man who still works for the State Police, discovered a white officer had placed a banana on the windshield of his police car, the complaint states.
“This was intended as, and understood by (the officer) to be, a racist reference to (the officer), as a Black man, being a monkey: one of the most noxious and dehumanizing stereotypes against Black people,” according to the complaint, which points out the stereotype has been recognized as dehumanizing by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Discipline and retaliation against troopers
Maryland State Police is accused of harshly disciplining its officers of color, resulting in “terminations, lost promotions, and demotions” and “losing pay; suffering damages to their professional reputation; lost supplemental employment; lost retirement benefits; and personal pain and suffering,” the complaint states.
After the officer complained about the banana on his windshield to the state police’s office in charge of handling discrimination complaints, he was told the incident was “wrong” but not racist, according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the white officer who put the banana on his car was not disciplined and was promoted several times afterward.
Subsequently, the officer who complained was disciplined and retaliated against when Maryland State Police re-opened a closed case involving a complaint against him, according to the lawsuit. Reopening the case, which was regarding alleged misconduct during a traffic stop, violated the police department’s policy.
“As a result, MSP placed (the officer) on an unpaid suspension, and even charged him criminally, and kept him on suspension for three years,” the complaint says.
As for the former female trooper, the lawsuit argues she was retaliated against after she was selected for a special training. Her supervisor is accused of saying the special assignments should be given to white officers and began criticizing her, leading to a poor performance review.
Ultimately, when she complained of discrimination, she was suspended without pay before she was fired, according to the complaint. The lawsuit argues “MSP does not terminate Caucasian officers for similar or worse conduct.”
The third plaintiff, a current trooper who is a Black man, was suspended for 301 days after he was accused of making a “one-hour error in recording his time card” and was denied promotions, according to the complaint.
This resulted in a “substantial” loss of pay while the department “does not subject caucasian officers to similar discipline,” according to the complaint.
Other Maryland State Police officers have filed charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and are waiting for the agency to give them a notice of a right to sue, the complaint states.
“The officers in the Complaint, the other officers with claims at EEOC, and officers of color around the State of Maryland put their lives on the line, and in exchange simply want to be treated equally and without discrimination,” Shinnar, the attorney representing the three troopers in the lawsuit, told McClatchy News.
The state police spokesperson’s statement said the department “remains committed to providing the highest quality of law enforcement services to the people of Maryland, while ensuring the fair and equitable treatment of all employees.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Three officers say they endured racism working for Maryland State Police. They’re suing."
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