3 Former Philadelphia Officers Win $10 Million Lawsuit Against City

PHILADELPHIA --

Three former Philadelphia police officers have won a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the city.

Their attorney said it's the biggest payout of its kind ever against the city.

It's a 10-year-old case, now complete with a $10 million payout, NBC 10's Harry Hairston reported.

A federal jury said three white officers were retaliated against for breaking the blue code of silence in 1997 to fight racism.

"For 10 years it destroyed my life, and it ruined my life," former Philadelphia police Officer Michael McKenna said Thursday.

But now former officers Michael McKenna, brother Bill McKenna and Raymond Carnation are putting their lives back together after the $10 million federal court jury award.

"The truth has been told," Michael McKenna said, adding that it was "our day that we're able to say we were heard."

The trio said the retaliation started at the 25 District in 1997. That's when they broke the blue code of silence and reported alleged racism against three black officers.

During an eight-day trial, the officers told jurors what a ranking officer said about a black officer.

"I'm going to get that n----- Sanford," Michael McKenna said.

Michael McKenna reported the incident.

Shortly after that, the retaliation started, the former officers said.

Michael McKenna said that when he let a black female officer in his police car to get out of the rain, a ranking officer told him, "You'll feel what it's like to work with a n-----. Take the vehicle back, and you're going to stand out there with her."

Bill McKenna said he stood up for the same black female officer and a superior told him, "Tell that critter to do what she has to do if she has a problem with me."

The officers said the retaliation nearly cost them their lives.

"My partner and I, on Oct. 11, 1997, we were shot at at C and Wyoming. We received no backup," Bill McKenna said.

Attorney Brian Puricelli said the verdict is the largest any officer has won in a retaliation lawsuit.

"That sends a strong message to not only the city but also the police department that the status quo will no longer be accepted," Puricelli said.

And the Guardian Civic League, a police group that fights racism on the job, commends the officers for what they did.

"It sends a message to the city that you need to wake up and start looking at those in authority who use their badges, their positions to retaliate against those who stand up for truth," said Rochelle Bilial, of the Guardian Civic League.

The officers said they will use the tax-free money to help others like them.

"I'm looking to actually build a foundation to help officers who break the blue wall of silence," former Officer Raymond Carnation said.

Philadelphia's solicitor said the city is disappointed with the verdict and will explore what legal opportunities it may have.

The black officers had reached an out-of-court settlement years earlier, Hairston reported.

Copyright 2008 by NBC10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.