Posts Tagged ‘discrimination’
Attorneys on both sides of discrimination suit allege shenanigans
Hours after court recessed Wednesday, attorney Stephen Jaffe was still miffed. That morning, defense attorneys filed a motion seeking sanctions against Jaffe—who is representing six of the seven African American police officers who are suing the city of Richmond and its chief of police for racial discrimination—for allegedly berating and making racist comments to a member of their staff.
Read MoreClashes on – and off – the witness stand in Magnus race-discrimination suit
Lt. Johan Simon, a decorated member of the Richmond Police Department who some thought of as a potential candidate for chief of police, instead gained a more dubious distinction during the divisive early period of Chief Chris Magnus’ tenure atop the organization. He was the first officer ever to be put on a “threat assessment,”…
Read MoreLt. Whitney: ‘We screwed up as an agency’ in ’08 investigations
A Richmond Police lieutenant on Thursday testified that systemic failures within the department were to blame for a botched investigation into serious crimes in the city. Lt. Charles “Chuck” Whitney testified he is friends with the seven high-ranking African American officers who are suing the city, Chief Chris Magnus and former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter,…
Read MoreRitter testifieds for a second day in Richmond discrimination suit
During her second day of testimony in the discrimination lawsuit against herself, Police Chief Chris Magnus and the city of Richmond, former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter testified that she wanted more diversity in the department’s upper ranks. “When I was deputy chief, the command staff was African American men and myself,” Ritter said. “I wanted…
Read MoreRitter takes stand, rejects accusations of racist behavior in Richmond discrimination suit
Scattered across more than a month of testimony, former Richmond Police Department Deputy Chief Lori Ritter has been accused by some of her former colleagues of harboring a vendetta against them and lashing out at them with racially-tinged jokes. But taking the witness stand herself for the first time on Tuesday, Ritter turned the tables.…
Read MoreMagnus’ last day of testimony delves into a lonely, divisive period atop department in 2006
After more than a week on the witness stand, Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus’ last day of testimony as a defendant was one of more questions from the plaintiff’s attorneys—and from the jury. “Do you have any friends in the Richmond Police Department?” was one question that came from the jury, read by the judge.…
Read MoreAmid racial strife, Magnus hit resistance in imposing his program
When he took the helm in early 2006, Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus looked to impose his geographically centered policing strategy in a department accustomed to mobile crime suppression teams and cleaved with persistent racial division. “Unfortunately our department is greatly segregated,” then-Captain Ed Medina wrote in a memo reviewed by Magnus in 2006. “We…
Read MoreBrown testifies that Richmond chief promoted alleged racist, inflaming tensions
Lt. Cleveland Brown testified that he never heard the Richmond police chief or deputy chief use racial slurs, but that they made remarks that were offensive to African Americans. Former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter “told me to tap dance,” Brown said from the witness stand. “That is racially offensive.” Brown is one of seven high-ranking…
Read MoreTestimony in Magnus trial focuses on descent into dispute
Tuesday’s testimony – a marathon volley between Hartinger and Pickett – traced the rapid devolution of relations in the department after Magnus’ January 2006 hiring, which brought him to Richmond from Fargo, N.D.
Read MoreTest suggests discrimination against African Americans in search of rental housing
A local housing attorney painted a disheartening picture of racial discrimination in Richmond at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, making a case that potential African American renters routinely received rental terms and conditions that were less favorable than their Caucasian counterparts.
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