The numbers are staggering. Forty-nine current and former employees of the Greensboro Police Department - in a force of 655 people - are suing the city for racial or gender discrimination and other employment-related grievances.
The controversies date back as far as seven years ago. They span the administrations of three police chiefs and two city managers. Dozens of city employees and one council member, Trudy Wade, are defendants.
The lawsuits are taking up a heap of city leaders' time and even more taxpayer money - $1 million so far paid in legal fees to private firms.
Those costs are likely to increase, with three new cases filed in the past month alone and several of the most complex lawsuits reaching court soon.
Today, the council will have another in a series of closed-door sessions to hear more about the suits.
Susan Danielson , the police department's spokeswoman, said lawsuits "are certainly a recourse available to our employees." City officials declined to comment about the suits, saying they can't talk about ongoing legal issues.
Overall, the lawsuits paint the police department as a cauldron of racial and gender grievances - sometimes in ways that contradict each other:
- Forty black and Latino officers claim they were discriminated against by former police Chief David Wray and his commanders. The officers said the commanders directed underlings to include pictures of them in a "black book" and pursue unsubstantiated charges against them because of their race. Wade was also sued after it was alleged that she leaked information about the officers.
Cost to taxpayers: $353,200 .
- Capt. James Hinson claims the Wray administration sought to discredit his professional reputation. Hinson said that white officers did not get the same treatment.
Cost to taxpayers: $139,700.
- Police Officer Julius Fulmore said police leaders repeatedly investigated him even though earlier allegations had no merit. He said leaders targeted him because he is black.
Costs to taxpayers: $268,959 .
- Former police Chief Wray claims city officials discriminated against him because he is white. Former City Manager Mitchell Johnson , who is named in the lawsuit, did this "in an effort to appease a segment of the African American community," according to the suit.
Cost to taxpayers: $157,000.
- Former Deputy Chief Randall Brady sued to get Greensboro to pay his legal bills for civil lawsuits brought by two police officers. In an early lawsuit, he sued for retirement benefits the city had withheld. He won.
Cost to taxpayers: $268,900.
- Scott Sanders and William "Tom" Fox, who are white, claim they were "maliciously prosecuted" by the department. In 2009, Sanders and Fox were cleared of criminal charges for their role in investigating minority police officers.
Cost to taxpayers: $139,600 .
Some lawsuits are too new for the city to owe money to private firms:
- Former Officer Deborah Thomas claims that superiors retaliated against her for filing reports of misconduct over racial and sexual discrimination.
- Lt. Karen Walters claims gender discrimination in being denied a promotion.
- Former Capt. Charles Cherry, former police Officer Joseph Pryor and police Officer Robert Reyes have filed a wrongful termination suit. Cherry and Pryor are also among the 40 people involved in the discrimination suit.
Attorneys for some of the employees with discrimination claims said they found a pattern of problems with the city's actions. But not everyone is convinced the city is guilty, given that the cases span three police administrations.
"It seems to strain credibility that you've got bad acts by (Wray, Tim Bellamy) and now current Chief Miller," said Ken Keller, Wray's attorney.
Joe Feagin , a sociology professor at Texas A&M University and co-author of the book "Black in Blue: Black Police in White Departments," said the culture in many police departments can foster such a state of affairs.
Because officers face daily threats, he said, they place a premium on sticking together.
"That often means that when one officer is accused of something, the others tend to back him up," he said. "A black officer, when he's dealing with a difficult situation and raises issues of discrimination, the other white officers are slow to back him up. "
Meanwhile, City Council members are struggling to figure out whether the city should settle cases or try its luck in court.
Councilwoman Marikay Abuzuaiter , whose first term started in December, said she hasn't decided what the city should do.
"There is a lot of complex issues here. It can be mind-boggling," she said.
Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or [email protected]
Contact Robert Lopez at 691-5091 or [email protected]
Lawsuits span 7 years and involve 49 former or current police employees.
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