The city of Little Rock has settled an age and race discrimination lawsuit with a current police sergeant and three retired officers for $200,000 altogether, including attorney's fees.
According to court documents filed Friday night at the close of a settlement conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Ray, as well as a transcript filed Monday, the city has agreed to pay $36,543 each to Sgt. Willie Davis and three retired officers to resolve a 2018 lawsuit. The remaining $53,828 is for their attorney, Mike Laux.
The suit alleged that Davis and the former officers -- Lt. Johnny Gilbert, Capt. Tanya Washington and Lt. Earnest Whitten -- were denied preferred positions, promotions and desired transfers because they are black and because they were older than 40. Davis remains at the Little Rock Police Department, and Whitten is now at the Pulaski County sheriff's office.
The city "is admitting no liability whatsoever" concerning any of the four officers, according to a transcript of Ray reading the terms of the agreement into the record just after 8 p.m. Friday. The parties were urged to hold a settlement conference in advance of a jury trial that was looming on May 18.
"Although by the time of this settlement my clients had largely retired from the LRPD and were ready to start other chapters of life, they nonetheless felt compelled to see this important matter to fruition," Laux said Monday. "These decorated officers spent nearly 120 collective years protecting and serving the City of Little Rock. Their claims were meritorious and they believe this settlement makes that clear. We are thankful to the City for coming to the table. It was the prudent thing to do."
The lawsuit was filed March 12, 2018 by Davis, Whitten, Sgt. Derrick Threadgill and former officer Jackie Parker, who was fired on Nov. 7, 2017. Threadgill dropped out of the case a year ago, and then Gilbert and Washington were added as plaintiffs.
Parker wasn't part of the settlement, though records show he listened in on settlement discussions by telephone. He is still scheduled for trial in May. According to the transcript, Ray said Parker is free to continue pursuing his federal case and is also free to pursue other claims he has asserted against the city in a civil service reinstatement case pending in Pulaski County.
The city was represented by attorney John Wilkerson of the Arkansas Municipal League, and the agreement was authorized by City Manager Bruce Moore, who Ray said had the authority to act on behalf of the city without seeking approval of the Little Rock Board of Directors.
The lawsuit sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for the claims of discrimination as well as allegations that former Police Chief Kenton Buckner subjected the officers to a hostile work environment because of their involvement in the Little Rock Black Police Officers Association, an organization founded in part by Gilbert's father, Johnny Gilbert Sr., that was frequently critical of Buckner's leadership.
Buckner, who is also black, resigned in November 2018 to take a job in Syracuse, N.Y.
The lawsuit alleged that "there has been rampant racial discrimination within the LRPD for many years, and it has festered virtually unabated throughout the tenure of all LRPD chiefs of police." The city was the only defendant in the case.
Metro on 02/11/2020