Cincinnati police officers sue city, chief alleging bias against White lieutenants
Several high-ranking Cincinnati police officers are suing the city and Police Chief Teresa Theetge on claims the department's leadership is discriminating against White lieutenants in making assignment decisions.
The lawsuit, filed on May 19 in federal court in Cincinnati, alleges the city and Theetge discriminated against Capt. Robert Wilson and lieutenants Patrick Caton, Gerald Hodges and Andrew Mitchell by favoring women and persons of color for preferred assignments.
The officers say they were skipped over for such assignments, which are generally regarded within the department as career-enhancing and include benefits like take-home cars and additional overtime opportunities.
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'The city and Chief Theetge have actively and systemically undertaken efforts to promote, advance, and make promotion and assignment decisions that are preferable to women and minorities, and to the exclusion of White men,' the lawsuit states.
Cincinnati spokeswoman Mollie Lair said the city doesn't comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson for the Cincinnati Police Department also declined to comment.
The lawsuit is seeking a jury trial and damages, including lost wages and benefits, as well as a court order halting the department's alleged discriminatory assignment practices.
According to the lawsuit, while most of the department's lieutenants are White men, women and officers of color were given preferred assignments at higher rates. The civil complaint also cites several instances in which White male lieutenants, whom the lawsuit labels as better qualified, were passed over due to race and gender considerations.
In one instance, a district commander requested that Hodges be assigned as the district's investigative lieutenant; however, Theetge chose a Black female officer for the role, the lawsuit states.
The officers filed discrimination charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2023. They were notified in February of their right to sue.
Since Theetge was elevated to the role of chief, 'there has been significant discrimination directed against White males regarding these assignments,' the officers wrote in their EEOC complaints.
The lawsuit also claims that a race-based quota system was used to promote women and non-White officers to the rank of lieutenant, with the department's leadership continuing to make assignment decisions based solely on race and gender.
A federal judge ruled in 2021 that the department could no longer use race- or sex-based goals in hiring or when awarding promotions. Those goals were related to a consent decree from 1981 that was intended to address discrimination against Black people and women in both hiring as well as promotions.
This isn't the first time White officers have filed suit against the department over alleged discriminatory behavior.
Earlier this year, the city paid a $95,000 settlement to a White police officer who sued over comments about White people made by her supervisor and colleagues.
In 2021, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed by two White Cincinnati police officers who alleged a Black lieutenant was 'vindictive and openly racist.' The officers said the lieutenant discriminated against them and created a hostile work environment based on race and sex.
Enquirer staff writer Kevin Grasha contributed.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: White Cincinnati police officers sue city, chief alleging racial bias
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