Trial set to begin after five Black University of Washington police officers sue school for racism

The 2021 lawsuit claims white supervisors and officers subjected Black officers to vulgar comments about Black male anatomy and a stream of racial jibes, threats and harassment. 

Five Black University of Washington police officers are heading to court in a lawsuit in which they recounted over 100 incidents of “rampant, pervasive discrimination and retaliation.”

According to the The Seattle Times, Russell Ellis Jr., Damien Taylor, Karinn Young, Gabriel Golden and Hamani Nowlen allege discrimination by white police supervisors and officers.

Ellis is a 22-year law enforcement veteran; Taylor is a 15-year police veteran; Golden is a 10-year veteran; Nowlen is a five-year veteran; and Young is a 12-year veteran and the only Black woman involved in the 2021 lawsuit, which claims white supervisors subjected Black officers to vulgar comments about Black male anatomy and a never-ending stream of racial jibes, threats and harassment. 

Jury selection begins this week for the trial, which is set to last until December and feature over 80 witnesses, including former Black police chief John Vinson, as well as the introduction of exhibits.

While UW acknowledges “the plaintiff’s allegations are disturbing — if true,” the institution and the accused officials have refuted the charges.

“Plaintiffs allege that they heard a number of racial slurs by co-workers and other non-managers and that they were subject to other treatment which they perceive to be racially motivated,” UW’s lawyers wrote in a failed dismissal motion. “But those whom the plaintiffs accuse of engaging in or witnessing such conduct have credibly denied these allegations under oath and will do so at trial.”

The lawsuit claims the UW administration was aware of the years of allegations detailed in the 33-page complaint but did nothing.

According to the lawsuit, Young discovered a banana in front of her locker with a note that said, “Here’s your (expletive) lunch, you (expletive) monkey,” the Times reported.

In another instance, one of the Black officers, responding to a call with a white supervisor, recalled a suspect saying he was only confronted because “I am a Negro.” In response, the supervisor allegedly said, “Well, I’ve got my own Negro with me.”

Following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in May 2020, one of the plaintiffs overheard several white officers joking about the incident.

According to the lawsuit, a racist culture has persisted inside UWPD for decades and heightened when the university hired Vinson, the first Black chief, in 2009. His recruitment came after other officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the university alleging sexual and racial discrimination in 2008. That case went to trial in 2011 and the university prevailed.

Multiple officers and supervisors allegedly complained about Vinson recruiting too many “unqualified” police, which the five plaintiffs believe refers to his hiring of Black police officers, including themselves. However, a university-sponsored investigation never listed race as a motive.

The white officers eventually pushed Vinson out, with him leaving UWPD in 2019 — but not before informing the administration and the institution of the department’s major racism problems. Craig Wilson, the new chief, is also Black.

Seattle attorney Toby Marshall declined to discuss the lawsuit but said their clients look forward to court and “hope that truth and justice will prevail.”

He noted that Nowlen is the only one of the five officers still working for UWPD.

“The five plaintiffs — constituting every unranked Black officer currently in the department — have experienced widespread acts of racial harassment and discrimination within the Department, including the use of the N-word and other racial slurs, racist stereotypes, physical intimidation and preferential treatment of white officers,” the lawsuit read, the Times reported. “UWPD has a culture of racial insults and mistreatment that UWPD management is aware of and sometimes directly involved in.”

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