An 18-year veteran of the Miami Police Department launched legal action against the City of Miami, claiming she was harassed for 290 days and ultimately demoted from her job as commanding officer because of a dispute over her hair.
Weslyne Lewis Francois filed the lawsuit on Oct. 11, accusing Miami Chief of Police Manuel Morales of waging a racist campaign to undermine and destroy her career because she would not “tone down” her look at his request, specifically her hairstyle.
Francois is seeking at least $1 million in damages, along with a jury trial, for being discriminated against and victimized because of her race and ethnicity. She also claims she was retaliated against for filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
“Chief Morales’ actions were aimed at undermining the identities of Black women, reinforcing a narrative of superiority that positioned them as lesser individuals,” states the complaint obtained by Atlanta Black Star.
The trouble with Morales began shortly after Francois’ last promotion in 2020, according to the suit. After serving in the U.S. Army, she devoted nearly two decades to the force, rising through the ranks from a temporary position to commander.
Within a month of the promotion, Morales, who then held a senior position as assistant chief of police operations, confronted Francois over her hairstyle after seeing a photo on social media.
The lawsuit alleges he told her to “tone” it down to fit in with the Coconut Grove community of Miami despite no indication that she — or her hair — had ever posed a problem. On the contrary, in June 2021, the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District published a glowing profile of the commander, commending her for bringing a “nurturing touch to her leadership role” in a community she considered a “second home.”
At the time of the comment, the mother of three warned Morales that he was violating anti-discrimination laws, but the suit alleges this sparked his ire. “Chief Morales was relentless on how my look was not acceptable,” stated the EEOC complaint via the Miami Herald.
The suit states he compared her hairstyle to another Black female commander with a shortcut to indicate “a lack of professionalism and an attempt to impose conformity.”
What followed was a months-long campaign to discredit Francois, and the first attempt happened while she was on vacation, a tactic that Morales would return to, stated the suit.
While Francois was enjoying her time off, she claimed she received a call from Morales’ subordinate with an impossible request. She was to prepare an honor guard detail at City Hall for Veterans Day within less than 24 hours. After completing the task, she received a “thank you” text from the officer with the message “Chief was not happy.” Soon, her honor guard duties were revoked.
The complaint details multiple abuses of power allegedly perpetrated by Morales and others on the force, including public humiliation, yelling, the circulation of false rumors, and two unwarranted “90-day performance improvement” plans, including a “first-of-its-kind” evaluation by an unlicensed behavioral analyst.
In one instance, Francois, who was injured at the time, was reprimanded for not responding to an unnamed incident, while other officers who did not respond faced no consequences. Referring to Morales’ determination to bring her down at any cost, assistant Chief Thomas Carroll told her directly, “Wes, we know what this is about. Let’s just make this go away. You know he is not going to stop!” the suit claims.
In another incident, her direct supervisor, Major Um Set Ramos, began “shadowing her at events” and “sought negative feedback” about her from her peers and constituents, “causing concern among community members” who knew and respected her. The suit noted that Ramos had allegedly once used the N-word when referring to a Black victim of a vehicle crash.
“She endured a period of persecution lasting 290 days, during which no other staff members of the opposite sex or race experienced similar treatment,” the lawsuit read.
After months of reprimands, Francois was demoted to lieutenant at the end of 2022. In January 2023, she approached Miami City Manager Art Noriega about the alleged harassment, but that has been a dead end, and she has not received a response.
When the Miami Herald contacted the city of Miami, a spokesperson denied all the allegations, and Morales has not publicly commented on the lawsuit.
