A jury has awarded five former and current Black University of Washington police officers a $16 million verdict in their racial discrimination lawsuit against the college.
The verdict came in on Dec. 22 following a six-week trial against the University of Washington Police Department.
According to The Seattle Times, testimony at the trial revealed multiple instances of racism and hostility aimed at the plaintiffs Russell Ellis Jr., Gabriel Golden, Hamani Nowlen, Damien Taylor, and Karinn Young.
The lawsuit states that the UWPD officers were subjected to “widespread acts of racial harassment and discrimination” within the UW Police Department, including the use of the N‐word. The officers said they were also subjected to racist stereotypes, physical intimidation and other racial slurs, while white officers received “preferential treatment” that the managers of the university were aware of. The complaint also accused management of threatening Black officers who reported misconduct and of blocking their promotion attempts.
“UWPD has a culture of racial insults and mistreatment that UWPD management is aware of and sometimes directly involved in,” the claim states. “In addition to the pervasive racial harassment, UWPD managers have also threatened Black officers to keep them from seeking promotions and retaliated against those who have reported misconduct.”
The officers’ attorney, Toby Marshall, told the outlet that the UW “turned a blind eye” to the problems in its police department. “Our hope — and our clients’ hope — is that UW can no longer look away.”
The harassment dates all the way back to 1998, according to the lawsuit, when one white sergeant distributed flyers with negative racial stereotypes and jokes at roll call. After a Black officer complained about the flyers and the “general culture of hostility toward Black officers” internally, the sergeant was put on paid leave to take diversity training. However, the racial slurs and misconduct continued. The lawsuit claimed the UWPD “trainings are not taken seriously” by management.
“For example, during a meeting to discuss one such training, UWPD supervisors were advised that two White officers had said of the training, ‘I am not going to give up White privilege because of Black Lives Matter bulls—t.’ The supervisors did nothing in response,” says the complaint.
The first Black police chief, Dr. John N. Vinson, was appointed in 2009 to lead the department, and he hired more Black officers. In 2018, several white officers called for an investigation into Vinson, claiming he’d “hired too many officers they believed to be unqualified,” and Vinson was forced out of the UWPD in 2019. Before he left, Vinson “made the UW and UWPD management aware of the significant problems with racism that he saw in the Department.” He also testified in 2020 that the termination of a Black officer “was racially motivated.”
Officer Ellis claimed that in 2017, he overheard white officers “vocalizing their resentment that Chief Vinson had hired so many Black officers” and “used the n‐word in referring to Chief Vinson.”
Ellis also noted that a supervisor asked him if “all Black people like grape soda?” and recalled another Black officer telling him that a white supervisor was looking at his genitals in the locker room before saying the “rumor is true about Black men.”
White UWPD officers were also overheard saying things like “[N‐words] are always late for everything” and “[N‐words] are always acting out, and they always want something for free.” After Ellis reported the incident to his supervisors, nothing was done. Ellis claims he was also offered an energy drink by a white officer who presented by saying, “You know you want it — it’s watermelon.”
Officer Golden says he was told to wait before applying for promotions because “everyone hates that Chief Vinson gives you Black guys whatever you want” and told he’d be “one of the good ones” if he waited to apply. He also overheard white officers saying they couldn’t wait for the UWPD to fire Chief Vinson’s “Black a**.”
Officer Nowlen claimed he was told by a white supervisor, “I thought all you guys like watermelon and Popeyes,” after being offered a watermelon‐flavored drink.
Nowlen, the only one of the plaintiffs who is still on the UWPD force, also claimed he heard several white officers talking about the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and heard one of them say that Floyd’s “black ass got what he deserved.” Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on his neck until he was dead.
Officer Taylor was told by a white supervisor, “I own you! Get the F back here!” during his time as a UWPD officer. After filing a grievance with his union representative when he was denied a detective position with the claim he wasn’t qualified, Taylor’s brake lines allegedly were cut while his vehicle was parked at work. He also received a pamphlet about reporting discrimination in his mailbox.
Officer Young was hired by Vinson. She told the court she once found a banana in front of her locker with a note that read, “Here’s your lunch, you f*****g monkey.”
The UW released a statement following the verdict, saying they were “disappointed” by the jury’s decision.
“Our attorneys are reviewing options for our next steps, including the potential for an appeal,” read the statement. “This case alleged issues that took place largely under previous leadership and went unreported through official channels.”
