LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Louisville police officer has filed a lawsuit claiming the department has unlawful bias and discrimination in its upper ranks that leaves Black officers out of consideration for promotions.
The lawsuit was filed by an attorney, Sam Aguiar, who also represents the family of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman fatally shot by police a year ago.
The suit from Officer Philip Satterthwaite claims the Louisville Metro Police Department has a “buddy system,” in which leaders cherry-pick who gets promoted and often leave out Black officers, media outlets reported.
Louisville police declined to comment on the suit.
Satterthwaite has worked in the department as a diversity and inclusion officer. He said the position was later eliminated and replaced with a “window-dressing job,” according to the lawsuit.
Satterthwaite said in the suit that race “plays a direct and indirect role in advancement opportunities at LMPD.” The suit said unit commanders were selecting friends for their positions and found that officers “regardless of race or gender, were losing out on promotions to others who had connections within the department.”
The suit asks for compensatory and punitive damages and for Satterthwaite to be reinstated into a new diversity and inclusion officer position.
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