Murfreesboro, police chief facing racial discrimination lawsuit for not promoting black officers

Brinley Hineman | Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

A black Murfreesboro police officer is suing the city and Police Chief Michael Bowen after he says he was refused promotion opportunities, faced harassment and had officers point a loaded gun at him because of his race.

According to a federal lawsuit filed by Officer Christopher Williams, who has worked with Murfreesboro Police Department since March 2011, he and other black officers have continuously been passed over for promotions in favor of white officers and were subjected to treatment that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Tennessee Human Rights Act and the 14th Amendment.

No black officer has been promoted since 2014, according to the Nov. 1 complaint.

"MPD has pervasive and discriminatory policies and practices to keep African Americans from promotion within the Department," the lawsuit says.

Black officers filed EEOC complaints over discrimination

The lawsuit shows that Williams and other black officers previously filed a discrimination complaint in 2018 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after they say they were continuously denied promotions.

Per a promotion policy created by Bowen in 2017, who was then the assistant chief, promotions would be determined by a four-part process, including a test, a psychoanalysis, an essay and an interview with a panel of different officers from Middle Tennessee law enforcement agencies.

The officers were scored based on their performances and other factors, like education and seniority. Officers were promoted based on those scores as openings became available.

After the policy was created, MPD hired four sergeant positions and ranked four white officers first, Detective Christopher Phillips, who is black, fifth, and Williams sixth. The four white officers were immediately promoted, the lawsuit says, while Phillips and Williams were moved to first and second rankings, respectively.

Eventually, the complaint alleges, two new sergeant positions became available. Instead of promoting Phillips and Williams per the policy, Bowen passed over both men and left the spots vacant close to a year. Similarly, Sgt. Reco Hathaway, another black officer, was eligible for a promotion to lieutenant but was denied.

"While Chief Bowen was leading the MPD, he discriminated against employees of color and treated African American officers differently than their white counterparts," the lawsuit says.

After the denials, all three officers filed a discrimination complaint with the EEOC. After the filling, the lawsuit says Bowen said black officers "had no leadership abilities."

"The City of Murfreesboro and Chief Bowen strongly deny all allegations of discrimination and/or wrongdoing asserted by Officer Williams in his lawsuit," attorney Matthew Lonergan said in an emailed statement. He declined to comment further.

Lawsuit: Williams harassed because of race

The lawsuit chronicles multiple instances when Williams said he was harassed and targeted because of his race.

Williams was one of the officers entangled in the arrest of Hobgood Elementary School students on campus, prompting backlash and a lawsuit from an arrested student's mother.

The EEOC complaint, included as an exhibit in the lawsuit, says when Williams, who worked as a school officer, reported the mishandling of the situation, he was moved to a different school with predominantly black students.

When at the department for a meeting over the arrests, two white officers cocked a gun and aimed at Williams, the lawsuit says. Williams reported the offense to MPD's legal department and says nothing was done, according to court documents.

Williams is "outspoken about the pervasive racial injustice adopted as a practice by MPD," the complaint says.

The lawsuit also detailed other complaints:

A fellow officer screamed in Williams' face and used racially degrading terms because of his complexion. A third officer witnessed the incident and reported it, but the officer in question wasn't punished, but promoted.

No action was taken when a fellow officer accused Williams of choosing "black lives over blue lives,"meaning the lives of black residents versus police officers.

After reporting incidents of physical and verbal harassment, Williams was often accused of insubordination and poor work performance.

City facing multiple racial discrimination lawsuits, complaints

This isn't the only lawsuit the city is facing alleging racial discrimination.

A longtime black Murfreesboro Water Resources Department employee is suing the city, alleging that she faced discrimination and hostility because of her sex, race and disability.

Two former black Murfreesboro firefighters are accusing the city of discrimination after they claim they were wrongfully disciplined and terminated.

A former fire captain filed a federal lawsuit saying he was forced to resign or forfeit his retirement funds after he noticed his paycheck was being altered.

Another firefighter is questioning his discipline after being fired for what superiors called an unsatisfactory job performance. He said in an appeals hearing that his coworkers made snide remarks because of his religious beliefs and vegetarian diet.

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Reach Brinley Hineman at bhineman@gannett.com, at 615-278-5164 and on Twitter @brinleyhineman.