A former Black police K-9 officer for Inglewood, California, is suing the city for discrimination and retaliation, claiming he was fired after calling out the police chief for displays of racism evoking the Ku Klux Klan and for unfair treatment as he recovered from a gunshot injury.
Marcco Ware had worked for the Inglewood Police Department for 15 years when he was sidelined in March 2022 by an on-duty injury — two gunshot wounds. At that time he’d been a K-9 officer for almost three years, and his assigned K-9 partner was Flynn, a dog he shared a close bond with, according to the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 5, and obtained by Atlanta Black Star. He was also issued a vehicle for both work and personal use.
In June of 2022, while he was still recovering from his injury, the dog and the vehicle were removed from his custody. This upset Ware, who argues that other non-Black colleagues in the K-9 unit have been off work for investigations or injuries and did not have their K-9 partners or vehicles taken away. That includes a Hispanic colleague who was investigated for misconduct, the complaint says.
Ware was the only Black K-9 officer in the department, which has six K-9 teams, and the only officer to have his K-9 partner and vehicle removed while healing for an injury suffered on duty, he claims.
When he returned to work in July 2023, Flynn was not returned to him, and he complained via email and written grievances to several superior officers, noting that he felt the department’s actions and policy were discriminatory and arbitrarily applied.
His grievance made its way to the police chief, who denied his appeal, stating, “K9 Flynn and your patrol vehicle are the property of Inglewood,” and ignored his complaints of racial discrimination, the lawsuit says.
Ware then made a formal complaint with the city’s human resources director, in which he discussed the racial inequities in the department.
“Since I am the only Black male officer in our unit to experience this, it has inevitably raised concerns about discrimination” in the department’s practices, he wrote, adding, “this discrimination is openly practiced and has gone unchecked for many years.”
The following month, Ware submitted an internal complaint about police chief Mark Fronterotta, who had a personalized license plate that read, “GRNMSTA,” which Ware and other colleagues perceived to portray the term “Grand Master” and to reference the Ku Klux Klan.
While the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term grand master as either the top-ranking leader of a fraternal organization or a highly skilled expert, especially in chess, recognized for consistently outstanding performance, “the term ‘Masta,’ a variant in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and other Southern dialects, stemmed from linguistic adaptations among enslaved Africans from diverse regions who were forced to communicate with each other and their enslavers,” his internal complaint noted.
Of the “GRNMSTA” plate, Ware wrote, “the pain is more profound and heavier, as I am a Black man in a subordinate role, facing the implications of the term ‘Grand Master’ from an authority figure, a White man, in our department. This license plate is a sad reminder to the members of the department and myself of the inherent biases and disparities still prevalent within our system.”
Ware further discussed his concerns about retaliation, which included not only losing his K-9 partner and vehicle, but being excluded by top police brass from attending meetings in City Hall with the mayor and other officials, while other officers were not.
In August 2023, Ware was told by Lt. Collins to move his vehicle or cover his license plate, which reads, “FKCKIRK,” which Ware claims is a tribute to his mother, who was a fan of Star Trek and Captain Kirk.
The Inglewood Police Department employs a Lt. James Kirk, who led the narcotics unit before he retired in September 2023, reported 2UrbanGirls.com.
Ware moved his vehicle as directed, and then got an email telling him to remove it completely by August 23, 2023 or that he would be considered insubordinate and could be terminated, which the lawsuit argues was a retaliatory threat.
On September 24, 2023, Ware’s car was towed from city property. On September 28, he was placed on administrative leave pending an internal administrative investigation, which the lawsuit says was in retaliation for his complaints.
His enforced leave also came just after Ware responded to a citywide email announcing Lt. Kirk’s retirement with a cheeky Instagram post, noted 2UrbanGirls.
“Congratulations Lieutenant James Kirk, it’s been a wonderful journey we have shared over the years,” wrote Ware on Instagram. “We’re all looking to watching you hang up your uniform and ride off into the sunset! We are all looking to September 28! I would love to share a few amazing memories we shared over the years.”
Ware then attached three photos to the email, including one with Ware kissing Kirk on his cheek, at a police celebration of a recent drug bust, an officer familiar with the photo said.
Ware was walked out of the police department less than an hour after responding to the email announcing Kirk’s retirement, 2UrbanGirls reported, citing city hall insiders.
On October 4, 2023, Ware submitted a personnel complaint against the police chief detailing the discriminatory and retaliatory events that had occurred, the lawsuit says.
On October 24, 2023, he noticed that he had not been receiving K-9 pay since May 2023 and contacted two superior officers, who subsequently restored his pay.
Then Ware was suspended for more than a year. He still has not been informed of the subject of the investigation or the allegations against him, the lawsuit says.
Before being allowed to return to duty, he was forced to see a city-appointed psychologist, Dr. Stuart Shaffer, despite providing a note from his own treating physician that he was cleared to return to work.
Dr. Shaffer determined that Ware could not return to duty due to “poor decision-making,” the complaint says. The doctor’s report cited only an alleged incident by a co-worker who complained that Ware was standing close to him.
Ware asked to see another physician but was denied. When he was examined by Dr. Shaffer in March 2025, the doctor again denied his ability to return to work, this time citing an occasion in November 2024 when Ware parked his personal vehicle on his own lawn due to construction in the area, the lawsuit says.
The city then told Ware he could not return to work as a peace officer.
In a pretextual and false attempt to accommodate him, the lawsuit says, the city offered him alternate positions, none of which were substantially similar to his role as a police officer or for which he is qualified. They included Associate Engineer (Water Division), City Attorney, and Senior Plan Check Engineer. Ware is neither an engineer nor an attorney, the complaint observes.
The lawsuit contends that the city “has destroyed Plaintiff’s career and livelihood in retaliation for his complaints,” causing him tremendous emotional distress, including anxiety and depression.
The city and 25 as yet-unnamed defendants violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and state labor law by discriminating against Ware on the basis of race and then retaliating against him when he engaged in protected activity by protesting the mistreatment, the lawsuit alleges.
The defendants also failed to provide reasonable accommodation for his disability after being injured, despite the fact that he was able to perform the essential job duties of his position, the complaint says.
The city’s wrongful employment practices caused Ware to suffer humiliation, lack of self-confidence, embarrassment, and mental anguish, along with loss of wages and benefits, and damage to his law enforcement career.
He seeks a jury trial to determine unspecified general and special damages, including lost and future wages and compensation for emotional distress, as well as legal costs.
A public information officer for the Inglewood Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Atlanta Black Star.
The City of Inglewood was served with the complaint on May 20 and typically has 30 days, or until June 19, to file a response.
