Thursday, June 13, 2019

DOJ Investigation and Lawsuit Links

DOJ Investigation and Lawsuit Links


Amended Lawsuit against the Prince George's County Police Department


Prince George's County Police Motion to Dismiss rebutal

Prince George's County Police Motion to Dismiss status


All,

On June 7, 2019 the Judge heard from both sides in reference to the county’s motion to dismiss.The County had two principle arguments for partial dismissal of the case. They are listed below. It is my opinion that the county should be ashamed of itself. They have chosen to spend approximately over a million dollars to protect racism, discrimination, retaliation and police corruption for the reputations of a few wrongdoers. In the meantime, they are sacrificing the reputation of the county and its residents because this is happening in their back yards.

As many of you know, it was our last resort to go public but this police administration chose to make this public in February 2017 (Chief’s Press Conference) and the new county executive co-signed on keeping that administration in place. Attached is the DOJ letter notifying the PD of its investigation.

Here are the highlights:


1.    “THE COURT SHOULD DISMISS HNLEA AND UBPOA AS PLAINTIFFS
PURSUANT TO RULE 12(B)(1) OF THE FED. R. CIV. PRO. BECAUSE THEY DO
NOT HAVE ARTICLE III STANDING, AND THEY DO NOT HAVE
ASSOCIATIONAL STANDING TO SEEK CERTAIN RELIEF ON BEHALF OF
THEIR MEMBERS.”

HNLEA and UBPOA seek other forms of relief that require individualized
proof. For instance, the Complaint requests that the Court order Defendants to:

• “Immediately rescind and expunge any and all discipline
issued to Plaintiffs and their members from any and all files
and records of the PGPD;

• “Immediately reinstate any and all Plaintiffs and their
members who were wrongfully terminated from
employment due to the discriminatory acts complained of
herein . . . .”

Our attorneys explained why it was important not to remove HNLEA and UBPOA from the complaint.We are waiting for a decision on both arguments from the judge. All I could say is that it was refreshing to see how good this federal judge was, in contrast to the Prince George’s County Judges which seem to automatically side with the county.

2.    The Court Should Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Claims Against Defendant Murtha.

The following is what our attorneys filed in response to removing Defendant Murtha from the case.This is only partial information on why not to remove him as a defendant:

·      “This is more than sufficient to state a claim against Murtha under Rule 8. The Court should reject Defendants’ suggestion that the allegations against Murtha are subject to a heightened pleading standard. If the Court requires further information, Plaintiffs hereby proffer that discovery will show:

·      In May 2016, the Internal Affairs Division received an anonymous complaint against Deputy Chief Murtha, regarding his approval and falsification of electronic time sheets for Corporal Richard Smith over a period of 14 months.
·      At the time Murtha was Defendant Chief Stawinski’s Executive Officer, and the second highest ranking officer in the Bureau of Patrol.
·      Capt. Perez was assigned to the investigation, and he gathered evidence sufficient to show that Murtha had falsified time sheets for Cpl. R. Smith.
·      However, soon after Capt. Perez reported that information to his commanding officer in IAD, Major Rafael Grant, the investigation was taken away from him. Without explanation, the investigation was assigned to an officer outside of IAD, Major Irene Burke. A White officer in IAD beneath Capt. Perez in rank, Lieutenant Lightner, was assigned to assist Major Burke.
·      Capt. Perez was instructed to provide all materials concerning the Murtha investigation to Major Burke and Lt. Lightner. Capt. Perez was also ordered to instruct Lightner to delete from IAD computer systems the investigatory materials concerning the Murtha investigation.

·      Capt. Perez continued to express interest in the matter. However, Lt. Lightner had been ordered not to discuss the matter and was not permitted to discuss the status of the matter with Capt. Perez, even though Capt. Perez was his commander.
·      In an interview that was recorded and transcribed, Defendant Murtha provided a false statement to Major Burke and Lt. Lightner. Specifically, to explain the absence of scan-card records that would support that Cpl. R. Smith was actually working and present in the County, Murtha stated that he had assigned Cpl. R. Smith to night duty and that Murtha personally observed him working each evening because he let him into the building.
·      After taking over the investigation, Major Burke and Lt. Lightner did not sustain the complaint against Murtha. Lt. Lightner was then promoted and reassigned to work for Deputy Chief Murtha.
·      In October 2016, when Capt. Perez and other PGPD Officers of Color filed a supplemental complaint with the Department of Justice, it contained a description of Murtha’s conduct in approving and falsifying electronic time sheets, as well as the efforts of others within the Department to cover up this misconduct. The Complaint cited additional evidence that Murtha was authorizing overtime pay for White officers who were not entitled to it.
·      A few days before filing the supplemental DOJ complaint, Capt. Perez met with and advised Defendant Stawinski that he would be filing the complaint described above, as well as an EEOC complaint.

·      Within an hour of informing Stawinski about the supplemental DOJ complaint and EEOC complaint, Capt. Perez was advised he was being removed from Internal Affairs.

·      In sum, Defendants’ motion to dismiss Deputy Chief Murtha lacks merit.”


Tuesday, February 12, 2019

HNLEA & UBPOA provide testimony in support of HB 413

February 4, 2019         

House Health and Government Operations Committee
6 Bladen Street
Annapolis, Maryland 


TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HOUSE BILL 413

The Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association and the United Black Police Officers Association write to provide wholehearted support for HB 413, Public Information Act - Personnel and Investigatory Records - Formal Complaints Against Public Employees.

The Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association (HNLEA) is a nonprofit association of Latino and minority law enforcement professionals involved in the administration of justice and dedicated to the advancement of Hispanic and minority interests in the law enforcement profession.

The United Black Police Officers Association’s (UBPOA) mission is to provide an organization for minority law enforcement officers with professional development and training, to create meaningful partnerships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve and to promote equal appointments, assignments, and promotions within the law enforcement profession.

HNLEA and UBPOA support the Public Information Act because of the need for transparency between law enforcement and the communities we are sworn to protect. Events such as Ferguson Mo., Chicago, Ill., Baltimore Md., and recently unfair disciplinary practices and retaliation for reporting other officers’ misdeeds in Prince George’s County Police Department have eroded the trust in law enforcement to unprecedented levels across the country. From a community policing perspective, transparency builds trust in the communities we serve. This trust is needed in order to efficiently solve crimes and effectively serve the people.

Within the law enforcement community, transparency holds us accountable to one another. It is often difficult to police ourselves when no one is watching. This legislation would help to ensure a system of checks and balances is in place.

Passage of the Public Information Act would help to put sufficient protections into place to ensure we are accountable to the people we serve while helping to repair the damage done in the last couple of years.


HNLEA and UBPOA urges a positive report on House Bill 413, Public Information Act - Personnel and Investigatory Records - Formal Complaints Against Public Employees.



Sincerely,                                                                    Sincerely,
Joe Perez                               Thomas Boone
Joe Perez, President                                                    Thomas Boone, President
Hispanic National Law                                               United Black Police Officers Association
Enforcement Association

Monday, February 11, 2019

Chief Kelvin Sewell: Looking beyond the Blue Wall of Silence















Personal experience and empirical data tell us that structural and individual racism pervade every aspect of American life. Yet many police departments operate behind a “Blue Wall of Silence,” pretending that discrimination and harassment do not exist within the force, rather than acknowledging the uncomfortable and incontrovertible reality.  As the leader of an organization made up of Officers of Color, I know this all too well.  We confront the Blue Wall on an almost daily basis, and we know what happens when officers who look like us dare to speak out.

When two Black officers at the Pocomoke City Police Department broke that Blue Wall by calling their chief’s attention to serious racial harassment they faced from white officers, and Chief Kelvin Sewell stood up for them, all three quickly became targets of retaliation. 

Despite his tremendous success as Pocomoke’s first Black police chief – doing the tough work of lowering the crime rate and improving relations with the community – Chief Sewell began experiencing intense harassment after he refused to reprimand the Black officers who filed complaints.  This harassment involved threats using racial slurs, the spreading of false rumors, and lobbying town officials to fire Chief Sewell and the other two officers.  Ultimately, this campaign succeeded, and all three Black officers were fired.  

But the harassment didn’t end there.  When the officers filed formal discrimination charges and a lawsuit, it got even worse -- even though the charges they made were sustained by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and joined by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Local law enforcement officials who were named in these charges enlisted the assistance of the Maryland State Prosecutor’s office.  

After a wide-ranging investigation into many baseless rumors, the State charged Sewell and one of the other Black officers with “misconduct” based on their discretionary handling of a car accident in which nobody was injured and driver’s insurance reimbursed the damage to the cars involved.  Officers – especially local police chiefs – are supposed to have broad discretion in their handling of such cases. But Officers of Color like Chief Sewell are not afforded the same benefit of the doubt in their decisions as white officers, especially when they have spoken out against racism.

Thankfully, Chief Sewell was vindicated in November 2018, when the Maryland Court of Special Appeals safeguarded his right to a fair trial by overturning his wrongful conviction for his judgment call on this incident .  The appeals court found that the lower court had wrongfully rejected testimony by two of Chief Sewell’s expert witnesses, which prevented him from getting the fair trial he was entitled to. The conviction was reversed, but the Court remanded the case, leaving open the possibility of a new trial.

To us, it is an indefensible waste of public resources to prosecute – and now attempt to retry – a highly-respected, history-making Black police official like Chief Sewell over this petty disagreement in judgment, when we know there is so much evidence of real and egregious acts of police corruption in Maryland. 

The type of discriminatory retaliation which Chief Sewell has endured for breaking the Blue Wall is typical of the unfair treatment faced by Officers of Color in internal investigations.  When a minority officer commits a minor infraction, the department turns over every rock, digging until it can find something to use against them – even if, as in Chief Sewell’s case, it doesn’t quite fit the charge. Sometimes it seems like white police leaders sit waiting for a minority officer to misstep, ready to turn around the minute it happens and position that person as the bad guy. Yet when white officers commit a similar – or even more egregious – act, the department looks the other way, allowing them to get away with it. They forget to interview witnesses, time is allowed to lapse, and steps are even taken to conceal the evidence.

Instances of internal corruption like these are far more deserving of the State Prosecutor’s focus than the petty charges against Chief Sewell.  Last month, my police colleagues and I in Prince George’s County filed a lawsuit challenging years of egregious race-based discrimination and retaliation both within our department and against the community we are sworn to serve. 

Months before we even filed this lawsuit, we sought the assistance of the State Prosecutor’s office to investigate criminal misconduct and corruption we had witnessed at the highest levels of our county’s police department.  But we were unable to get any response or call back from State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt. Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department and local news agencies have reported extensively on police abuse of force and corruption in Maryland. 

Why does the Maryland State Prosecutor insist on looking the other way, still unable to see beyond the Blue Wall? 


1 See New York Times, “Lawsuit: Police Chief Condones White Officers' Racism, Abuse,”
2 (see U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Civil Rights Div., Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Dep’t

Joe Perez, President
Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association NCR
P.O. Box 766, Cheltenham MD 20623
www.hnlea.org 240-244-9189

Saturday, February 9, 2019

National Action Network Meeting with PGPD13

February 9, 2017 
Washington DC. 

The United Black Police Officers Association (UBPOA) and the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association (HNLEA) met with leaders of the National Action Network (NAN) in order to discuss Police Accountability within the Prince George’s County Police Department.  Topics of discussion were, the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Pattern and Practice Investigation into PGPD as well as the lawsuit against the Prince George’s County Government.  Specifically, the racism, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful terminations within the Prince George’s County Police Department.  Both NAN board members and the community expressed a strong desire to call for county leaders to be held accountable for their actions and inactions.  

Police accountability and institutional racism is a national problem. We look forward to working with the National Action Network and developing a strong national partnership. Ms. Nia 2X moderated the lively discussion. Ms. Angela Taylor, NAN Committee Chairwoman for Gentrification & Politics spoke about disparities in politics and the need to make your voices heard.  

The National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, criminal record, economic status, gender, gender expression, or sexuality. 

For more information about NAN, please visit https://nationalactionnetwork.net.

#PGPD13 #HNLEANCR #UBPOAOFMD #METOOMOVEMENT #STOPTHERACISMPG #RACISM #DISCRIMINATION #PRINCEGEORGESCOUNTYMD


Sunday, February 3, 2019

Discrimination & Retaliation continues at PGPD

Over the years, the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association & the United Black Police Officers Association have met with prior administrations in order to discuss concerns of racial inequities in transfers, assignments, promotions, and discipline.  Although at times we did not agree on solutions, there was a mutual respect of perspectives and resolutions were found. The issues faced were always kept within the police department.  While we have had some racial tensions within law enforcement in the past, those racial tensions have been polarized by events such as Ferguson Missouri, Baltimore Maryland, and Charlottesville Virginia.  As a result, many in power within law enforcement see minority Law Enforcement officers quite differently.  This is what I refer to as having Shades of Blue within Law Enforcement.  There is no problem transferring, investigating, retaliating against, and firing the Darker Shades of Blue.  And like in the 1960’s, going after those non-minorities who affiliate with the Darker Shades of Blue.

We originally filed a complaint with the DOJ around March 2016.  After receiving additional complaints from the rank and file and being personally targeted, we filed an amended DOJ complaint in October 2016.  Since January 4, 2017 we've met with the PGPD administration in order to discuss some of the concerns.  Through the help of the NAACP, we requested the help from DOJ, Community Relations Service, in order to try and mediate the numerous concerns that were brought to our attention and the administration.  The administration refused to mediate even after I personally urged the Public Safety Director to contact DOJ and take steps to mediate. Then the administration took active steps to conceal the wrongdoing and target the complainants.  Often times, minority surrogates were used against us in order to create the illusion that the retaliation or wrongdoing was just.

Over the course of the three years, the administration has chosen to send a very strong message to those involved in the issues raised. By doling out retaliatory transfers, denial of due process during investigations, terminations, denial of promotions, vilifying accusers, as well as a variety of micro-aggressions against anyone exposing wrongdoing and racist behaviors. This administration sent a message that was loud and clear.  As each incident unfolded, we passed along this information to the DOJ, Civil Rights Division and the number of complainants rose.      

Over this same period of time, we advised the Chief of Police of the impact of his decisions on officers, the agency, the county government, and the citizens of Prince George’s County.   His answer was always the same - 'I don’t make decisions based on how they are going to look.'  As of late, we all look very bad.  Not every officer is a bad apple, not every non-minority or minority officer is a bad apple.  This administration chose their personal feelings and vindictiveness over the image of the institution and the well-being of the community we are sworn to protect.  It is with great consternation that we expose these misdeeds to the public.

It is worthy to note that over the past three years EEOCs filed have risen approximately six hundred percent (600%).  Under this administration we have fired more people of color than several of the past administrations combined. The last Caucasian officer fired by the county police was in May 2015 for involvement in a homicide in Charles County.  The last white officer convicted in criminal court (November 2017) for assaulting a homeless woman is still employed within the police department’s community services division.  According to WTOP, the Officer saw the woman sleeping outside of a pawnshop in Lanham, Maryland, in September 2016 and asked her to move along. “She was not moving fast enough for him, so he picked her up by her ears to get her standing to her feet,” John Erzen with the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office told WTOP.  He also hit the woman in the head and yelled obscenities at her, Erzen said. “This whole incident was witnessed by two other county police officers who reported to their supervisors what happened,” Erzen added. (two minority officers) He was suspended from his job in October 2016, and now a judge has found him guilty of second-degree assault and misconduct in office. https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2017/11/prince-georges-co-police-officer-convicted-in-homeless-womans-assault/

Most fired in the last three years have been African American males and African American females.  An African American female, mother of 5, is scheduled for a departmental trial board where she faces termination for a procedural violation.  One would think in a predominately African American county, with an African American County Executive, this trend of targeting minorities would not continue.  The one non-minority officer convicted in court in November of 2017 is still among us, placed on administrative duties working with our kids and our community.

Having the Department of Justice conduct a Pattern & Practice Investigation can reset the current trends.  We need to remove the fox from guarding the hen house and develop a level playing field for all officers and our community regardless of color or gender. We need to ensure that when there is doubt, officers are confident to bring forth inquiries without fear of retaliation.  In addition, we need strong new leadership that is willing to address these very serious issues before they continue to spill into our communities.  Leadership that is willing to act now and not wait for an outside agency to fix our problems.

Joe Perez, President
Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association

Friday, February 1, 2019

Pocomoke City Leaders, Civil Rights, and Police Groups Call on State Prosecutor to Close Case Against Kelvin Sewell


Petition, Letter Urge State Prosecutor to Focus on Serious Issues of Official Misconduct, Like Police-Involved Death of Anton BlaÃ¥ck 

For immediate release: 
January 31, 2019

Contact: Meredith Curtis Goode, 443-310-9946, media@aclu-md.org 

POCOMOKE CITY, MD – More than 1,100 Marylanders, including many from Worcester County and Pocomoke City on the Eastern Shore, have signed a petition being sent to Maryland State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt, urging him to end the State’s misguided prosecution of former Pocomoke Police Chief Kelvin Sewell. The petition drive builds on advocacy by a group of Pocomoke residents, community leaders, civil rights and police accountability advocates urging the State Prosecutor to move on to more pressing matters – like the disturbing police-involved death of Anton Black – and discontinue pursuit of Mr. Sewell.

 “We are hopeful that the justice system will work in this case and the State will stop the unfair prosecution of Chief Sewell,” said Rev. Ronnie White of Citizens for a Better Pocomoke. “We’re hoping and praying that we’ll have our police chief back in Pocomoke."

Late last year, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals overturned the wrongful 2016 conviction of Mr. Sewell – the first Black police chief in Pocomoke City whose stand against racial harassment made him the target of retaliation from local white leaders. Following that ruling, the coalition sent a letter https://www.aclu-md.org/en/file/1923 sent to Davitt that highlights the opinion of Court of Special Appeals Judge Daniel Friedman cautioning that the evidence of wrongdoing against Sewell – related to his handling of a traffic accident where no one was hurt and the driver’s insurance paid for all damages – was so completely inadequate that the case should have been dismissed outright.   Davitt acknowledged receipt of the letter in late December, but has yet to respond.

“During this month that we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr, former Chief Kelvin Sewell’s case underscores that justice continues to be elusive for African Americans in the State of Maryland,” said Carl Snowden, convenor of the Caucus of African American Leaders. “It’s our hope that the special prosecutor will drop this case.”

The letter stresses continued strong support for Chief Sewell, particularly in Pocomoke’s Black community, and voices concern for how the State Prosecutor persists in characterizing Chief Sewell’s conduct in the worst light possible.  It also shares insights from residents that the continued prosecution of Sewell has been destructive to race relations in the Pocomoke community, exacerbating preexisting racial tensions, and reigniting fears of law enforcement in the Black community that Sewell had worked effectively to overcome during his time as Chief.  

Additionally, the letter urges the State Prosecutor to understand that Officers of Color often are not afforded the benefit of the doubt in their decisions, and make them vulnerable to retaliation, especially when those decisions could be construed as somehow favoring other People of Color in a highly-segregated small town like Pocomoke City, where almost all the elected leaders are white.  That is why the United Black Police Officers Association and the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association – who have sued the Prince George’s Police Department (PGPD) for discrimination and retaliation against Officers of Color who speak out against discrimination and corruption in the PGPD – joined the letter to Davitt. 

“I have seen how Officers of Color like Chief Sewell are often not given the same benefit of the doubt in their decisions as white officers, especially when they have spoken out against racism,” said Joe Perez, president of the Hispanic Law Enforcement Officers’ Association. “It can seem like white police leaders are just waiting for a minority officer to misstep, ready to turn around the minute it happens and position that officer as the bad guy. That’s why we are taking a stand to support Chief Sewell.”

Go the ACLU of Maryland’s website to read the letter to State Prosecutor Davitt: https://www.aclu-md.org/en/press-releases 

###

Monday, January 28, 2019

Prince George’s officers claim retaliation since filing civil rights suit

The Daily Record

Some of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging the Prince George’s Police Department discriminates against officers of color are claiming they are facing retaliation at work since the suit was filed.
The lawsuit, filed in December, alleges the department is “pervaded by race discrimination and retaliation” and claims white officers use racial slurs, abuse their power against civilians, and steal departmental funds and property.
The plaintiffs, 11 officers as well as two law enforcement associations for officers of color, also claim the department’s leadership has not stopped a pattern of retaliation against officers who complain.
Since filing the suit, however, some of the plaintiffs claim they have faced additional retaliation, including suspension and misconduct allegations. In a letter to the court dated Tuesday, counsel for the plaintiffs said they plan to ask for a court order prohibiting unlawful retaliation.
“Our clients are disappointed that retaliation is continuing within the PGPD,” attorney Dennis Corkery said Thursday. “We hope Chief (Henry) Stawinski and leadership makes sure that it ends immediately.”
A spokesperson for the department declined to comment Thursday, citing pending litigation.
A female lieutenant was suspended Jan. 9 after being repeatedly denied a medical accommodation and an assignment away from the district where she claims she was sexually assaulted, according to the letter.
A male officer alleges the department instituted misconduct charges against him and transferred him in the lead-up to and after the filing of the lawsuit. A male captain says the department is continuing to pursue charges against him in retaliation for his role in the suit.
“Defendants’ retaliatory actions will cause certain of the Plaintiffs immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm,” the letter states.
Attorneys say they contacted counsel for the county earlier this month and raised two instances of alleged retaliation and requested a response. None was received, so the plaintiffs notified U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang that they were seeking permission to move for a preliminary injunction.
The defendants are represented by attorneys from Venable LLP in Baltimore, Towson and Washington, D.C. Lead attorney Kenneth L. Thompson deferred to the department for comment.
The plaintiffs are represented by John Freedman, Peter Grossi Jr., Adam Pergament, Titalayo Rasaki, Matthew Lanahan and Matthew Horton from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP in Washington D.C.; Jonathan Smith and Corkery from the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, and Deborah Jeon from the ACLU of Maryland.
The case is Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association NCR et al. v. Prince George’s County et al., 8:18-cv-03821.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Allegations of racism that divided a Maryland town remain unresolved

Allegations of racism that divided 
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/var/folders/bx/ybj90ht9565dns354cc98m380000gq/T/com.microsoft.Word/WebArchiveCopyPasteTempFiles/NWOMPSBLCII6LFQPELCLVGBO2Q.jpgFormer Pocomoke City police chief Kelvin Sewell with supporters after he was fired in 2015. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
January 6 at 6:00 PM
The allegations of racism that divided a Maryland town more than three years ago won’t be resolved any time soon.
In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Maryland’s state prosecutor said that he plans to 
retry a misdemeanor misconduct case against Kelvin Sewell, Pocomoke City’s first black police chief. 
Sewell was fired in 2015 after he refused to dismiss two black officers who accused the Eastern Shore 
city’s police department of racial discrimination.

The statement by State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt comes after the Maryland Court of Special Appeals 
overturned Sewell’s misconduct conviction. The state had accused Sewell of mishandling a motor vehicle 
crash in 2014, when a driver struck two unoccupied cars parked in Pocomoke City. Sewell was charged 
after failing to issue a citation to the driver, who said he fell asleep at the wheel. No one was injured in the 
incident. “It’s likely we will retry the case,” Davitt said. “A decision will be made within the next few weeks. 
I spoke to the individuals whose cars were damaged. There are other witnesses who had to testify. We want 
to make sure everybody is available.”

The appeals court ruled Nov. 29 that the case should be remanded for a new trial, concluding that the Worcester 
County Circuit Court made a mistake when it did not allow two police experts called by Sewell’s defense 
attorneys to testify during the December 2016 trial. Sewell’s attorneys argued the experts should have been 
allowed to explain officer discretion in traffic cases. Sewell’s attorneys applauded the ruling.
“The Court of Special Appeals correctly recognized the importance of a law enforcement official’s ability to 
exercise independent judgment and discretion,” said Lloyd Liu, one of Sewell’s lawyers. Sewell, who is now 
chief senior investigator for the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office, said that he was “extremely grateful to the 
appeals court for taking such care in considering my case and for safeguarding my rights for a fair trial. 
It renews a faith I’ve always had in our justice system.”

Sewell’s supporters contend he was fired in retaliation for refusing to dismiss two black officers — then-
Lt. Lynell Green and then-detective Franklin Savage — who filed complaints with the U.S. Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission describing a hostile working environment. City officials have 
adamantly denied those allegations of racial discrimination.

In 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated the officers’ complaints and 
determined there were “reasonable-cause findings” in the case, according to an EEOC statement. After 
unsuccessful talks aimed at conciliation between the parties, the EEOC referred the charges to the Justice 
Department.


In a separate action in 2016, Sewell, Green and Savage filed a lawsuit in federal court against Pocomoke 
City and its police department, claiming that they “were mocked, threatened, demeaned, demoted, punished, 
falsely accused of misconduct, ostracized and humiliated because of their race.”

In 2016, the Justice Department asked to join the civil rights lawsuit filed by Sewell, Savage and Green. In a 
26-page filing, the Justice Department charged that the Worcester County sheriff and the state of Maryland 
subjected the officers to a hostile work environment. The lawsuit, which also named as defendants the city’s former 
manager, its mayor, the Worcester County sheriff’s office, the state’s attorney’s office and the Maryland State Police, 
came seven months after Sewell was fired.

The lawsuit described an “unchecked pattern and practice of virulent” racial discrimination, including an alleged 
incident in which someone left a bloody deer tail on Savage’s windshield and a claim that in 2014 Savage “found 
in his desk drawer a fake food stamp on which an image of President Obama had been imposed.”
On May 31, 2014, according to the lawsuit, Savage received a text message that read, “What’s ya body count 
n-----? I’m in double digits.”City officials denied the allegations. That lawsuit is still pending in federal court.


On July 16, 2016, Sewell and Green were indicted by a Worcester County grand jury on charges of misconduct 
and conspiracy for allegedly interfering with the investigation of the 2014 motor vehicle crash.
State prosecutors argued that the driver, Douglas Matthews, a local correctional officer, was not charged 
because he, Sewell and Green, who also responded to the scene, were all members of Prince Hall Masonic Lodge.
Sewell’s attorneys argued that his handling of the case “was reasonable under the circumstance and consistent 
with the routine discretion that a small-town chief exercises,” according to court documents.
Sewell was convicted in November 2016 of misconduct by a Worcester County Circuit Court jury. He was acquitted 
of the conspiracy charge.

In December 2016, Green was found guilty by a Worcester County jury of conspiracy to commit misconduct in office. 
Green was acquitted of the misconduct charge.
The charge of misconduct in office is a misdemeanor, Davitt said. There is no set sentence if convicted on that charge, 
he said. “Even though it’s a misdemeanor, the state says the sentence is any penalty that is not cruel or unusual. That is 
for the court to determine.” Davitt said the case would be set for a new trial in Worcester County Circuit Court.
He denied the misconduct case was punitive. “It was not retaliatory, and there was no evidence it was,” said Davitt, 
who said the case was filed after the civil rights lawsuit because other parties had asked him to wait. “I have been a 
prosecutor for 25 years. I’ve never been accused of anything.”Davitt said his email was flooded for weeks accusing 
him of retaliation in filing the charges. “They put my name out denouncing me . . . It’s true the filing came several 
months after that, but the investigative meeting we had with Green came before the civil filing.”
Regarding the appeals court decision, Davitt said, “I’m disappointed it was remanded. The court made a point of 
saying there was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. We brought the charges and felt it was the right thing to do.”

Sunday, January 6, 2019

PRINCE GEORGE’S OFFICERS OF COLOR FILE FEDERAL LAWSUIT CHALLENGING WIDESPREAD RACE DISCRIMINATION, RETALIATION BY PGPD

https://www.aclu-md.org/en/press-releases/prince-georges-officers-color-file-federal-lawsuit-challenging-widespread-race

December 12, 2018

GREENBELT, MD – After years of being forced to endure a work environment pervaded by race discrimination and retaliation that also contaminate relationships between police and the community, 13 Officers of Color with the Prince George’s Police Department (PGPD), along with the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association and the United Black Police Officers Association, today filed suit in federal court in Greenbelt challenging PGPD’s pattern and practice of unconstitutional conduct. Their lawsuit, filed with the support of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland, and Arnold & Porter, asks the court to find these PGPD policies and practices unlawful, to mandate comprehensive reforms, and to provide justice to the officers and community members who have experienced this egregious mistreatment. 
“I had high expectations when I joined the department, but very early in my career I had a “MeToo” experience – I was sexually harassed by my white Field Training Officer,” said Sonya Lancaster, Member of the United Black Police Officers Association. “My complaint was sustained, but that is when the retaliation began against me. I have been targeted, blackballed, retaliated against and made an outcast because I spoke up against the mishandling of internal investigations and biased treatment against people who filed complaints on white officers. I spoke up when I saw African Americans fired and disciplined without just cause, while white officers who engaged in real misconduct were promoted up the ranks over and over again. I took an oath to serve my community not to be part of the police department in wrongdoing.”
The discrimination and retaliation within the Prince George’s County Police Department are entrenched and systemic. This longstanding failure of leadership in the PGPD has worsened under Chief Henry Stawinski, allowing dominance by white officials, fostering racist conduct and retaliation against officers and community members of color, and undermining the effectiveness of the department to serve a community whose residents are 80 percent Black and Latinx. These issues are longstanding and part of the culture of the PGPD. Despite having been put on notice of discriminatory practices, Chief Stawinski has nurtured an environment where racist conduct that is unacceptable in today’s society is allowed to persist and flourish. White officers are let off the hook for misconduct against the community, while Officers of Color face serious consequences in retaliation for taking a stand against abuse.  This racist and corrosive culture has further eroded public trust in the police and undermined public safety in Prince George’s County.
“To this day, the current administration has continued to retaliate against those who raise concerns by vilifying complainants, arranging unwanted transfers, and sending a clear message throughout the agency that this is what happens when concerns of racial bias and inequity are raised,” said Joe Perez, President of the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Officers Association. “Over the past three years, the police department has lost the ability to fairly and impartially investigate its own and fully protect the community.  Our hope is that this litigation along with the Department of Justice complaint will spark much-needed positive change.”
“It feels like white police leaders in Prince George’s say, ‘what can I do to break you? To set you up and drive you out of the department?’ We formed the United Black Police Officers Association because our members were not treated fairly,” said Thomas Boone, President of the United Black Police Officers Association. “But the lawsuit we brought today is not about just the officers. It’s about the community as well. When citizens file complaints they need to be equally investigated, treated fairly, and appropriate disciplinary action needs to be taken. We are calling on the Prince George’s Police Department to enact fair policies and procedures, and we believe an immediate change in leadership at the department is needed.”
The Officers assert that PGPD should be focused on proactively reforming itself to end racially biased policing and unconstitutional practices.  That reform is undermined when officers who speak up about racist attitudes and actions within the police force experience reprisals instead of positive action. The reforms sought through the lawsuit include, 1) enhancement of policies prohibiting racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, 2) appointment of an independent monitor to oversee reforms, and 3) appropriate discipline imposed against officers who engage in discriminatory actions.
“There must be justice for Officers of Color who blow the whistle on racist policing practices that violate the rights of the Black and Brown residents so often targeted by over-policing and brutality,” said Dana Vickers Shelley, Executive Director of the ACLU of Maryland. “Any police department that fosters a culture of racial harassment and retaliation against Officers of Color within its ranks cannot hope to gain the community trust necessary to achieve better public safety. Officers who speak out against misconduct and racism should be praised not punished.” 
 “We ask officers to serve their communities justly and without bias. They are entitled to the same in the workplace,” said Jonathan M. Smith, Executive Director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil rights and Urban Affairs. “Despite the culture of retaliation within the Prince George’s Police Department, the officers bringing this suit are courageous in stepping forward to take a stand against the racism that infects the Department. They are determined to make the department transparent, accountable and responsive to officers of color and the community.” 
The plaintiffs are represented by John Freedman, Peter Grossi, Jr., Adam Pergament, Titalayo Rasaki, Matthew Lanahan, and Matthew Horton from Arnold & Porter; Jonathan Smith and Dennis Corkery from the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, and Deborah Jeon from the ACLU of Maryland.
Learn more online at: www.aclu-md.org or www.washlaw.org.
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Friday, January 4, 2019

Important Member Information

Dear Members,

As many of you are aware, the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association (HNLEA) and the United Black Police Officers Association (UBPOA) filed a complaint with the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation (DOJ) and filed a lawsuit.  We have retained the legal services of the ACLU of Maryland, the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights & Urban affairs and Arnold & Porter.  Our legal team is working with the DOJ and has investigated a number of issues facing our members for the lawsuit as well as for DOJ.

Some of our members are reporting additional acts of retaliation since the lawsuit has been filed.  In light of these complaints and the volume of recent phone calls and emails from involved/interested parties, we have notified our council. Our attorneys would like to speak with our members who have witnessed or experienced acts of discrimination or have been retaliated against as a result of our current lawsuit.  Please contact Samantha Springer at the Washington Lawyers Committee at 202- 319-1000 or via email @ samantha_stringer@washlaw.org.

We encourage you to contact our attorneys as soon as you can as we move to the next step in our efforts for change.  They are scheduling interviews next week.  Speaking with an attorney does not mean that you have to be a part of a lawsuit or that the lawyers can represent you directly. The lawyers will be able to answer any questions about what role you might play in the lawsuit.

In addition, if you have additional questions or concerns please feel free to contact me directly via 240-244-9189 or @ president@hnlea.com

All information received will be forwarded to the DOJ through our council.  Personal information will not be released other than to the Department of Justice and/or the legal team.

Be safe!