Federal jury awards Black Columbus police lieutenant $2 in racial discrimination case

A federal jury has awarded Columbus police Lt. Melissa McFadden $2 for being the subject of racial discrimination and retaliation by the Division of Police following a trial nearly four years in the making.

McFadden, who is Black, had filed a civil rights lawsuit in June 2018 against the city of Columbus. The trial began on June 6 and lasted four days, ending with the jury's verdict on Monday afternoon.

The jury awarded McFadden $2 in their judgment, according to court records.

"It was more about the principle than money," John Marshall, one of McFadden's attorneys, told The Dispatch. McFadden is pleased with the verdict, he said, adding, "She feels like really she won."

Marshall said McFadden plans to ask  U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus to order the city to pay McFadden's legal fees and for other measures.

Marshall said those measures will include a request to have McFadden's division personnel file expunged and that prior disciplinary measures be unable to be used against her in the future, should any disciplinary issues arise.

In addition, McFadden will be asking the judge to order the Division of Police to issue "a communication to all CDP officers that the discrimination and retaliation are regretted and CDP looks forward to many more years of Lt. McFadden’s contribution to its mission," Marshall said.

The lawsuit stemmed from McFadden's reassignment to the division's property room in 2017 following the filing of a federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaint against her, accusing her of creating a hostile work environment and giving a sergeant a higher performance evaluation than deserved because he was Black.

War of words: Complaint filed against Columbus police lieutenant over book she published alleging racism

McFadden alleged in her federal lawsuit that other officers who had been investigated for similar types of complaints had not been reassigned, or if they had been reassigned, they were not subjected to the physically laborious position of working in the property room. McFadden said she suffered an injury while working in the property room that required her to take extended leave.

An internal investigation into the allegations against McFadden was conducted and then-Chief Kim Jacobs had recommended McFadden be fired. The complaints against McFadden had alleged that she had fostered a "Black militancy mindset" and an "us-versus-them" attitude when it came to Black and white officers.

Ned Pettus, who was the city's public safety director at the time, decided in August 2018 that the division had not met its burden of proof and did not fire McFadden.

'Walking the Thin Black Line': Columbus police lieutenant publishes memoir on racism within the department

McFadden said in the lawsuit that the disciplinary actions against her were retaliation for her speaking out about what she saw as discrimination within the division.

In September 2020, McFadden self-published a book about what she said were her experiences of racism while being a member of the Columbus Division of Police. The book, titled "Walking the Thin Black Line," resulted in a complaint being filed against McFadden with the police division's Internal Affairs bureau.

When the book was published, McFadden said she was scared of retaliation. However, in the book's introduction, she wrote that she was "finally bulletproof" while keeping her attorney "happily busy filing lawsuits against my employer."

McFadden remains employed by the division in the officer wellness bureau.

Marshall said McFadden is due to be promoted to commander in the coming months after scoring near the top of the pool of candidates who tested for the promotion. Those promotions are occurring, in part, due to the departure of a number of senior police division leaders who have taken the city's one-time $200,000 buyout offer.

Following the federal jury verdict, the city Department of Public Safety declined comment to The Dispatch, referring the inquiry to Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein's office.

Klein's office issued the following statement: "The City Attorney’s office takes seriously any allegations of retaliation and discrimination by city employers. We thank the judge and jury for taking the time necessary to understand, deliberate and decide this case. We respect their decision."

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jury awards Columbus police lieutenant $2 for racial discrimination