The fired Cave Springs officer who sued the police department on allegations of racism received $3,000 in a settlement with the city concerning overtime pay. Th...

The fired Cave Springs officer who sued the police department on allegations of racism received $3,000 in a settlement with the city concerning overtime pay.

The settlement, reached last month in federal court, gives Stanley H. Young $2,000 for overtime pay, $500 in attorney costs and $500 in court costs, according to court documents.

Young filed a lawsuit in January claiming the Cave Springs Police Department violated his federal rights and discriminated against his race in their decision to fire him last year. That part of the lawsuit is still progressing and is scheduled for trial early next year. A separate part claiming the department skirted overtime pay for Young was settled in federal court, according to Young’s attorney.

Young sought to be reinstated with back pay, along with compensatory damages and punitive damages.

In the suit, Young states he regularly worked overtime each week, but was not paid the regular overtime pay of time-and-a-half. He worked about 50 hours per week and was often called by Police Chief Michael Caudill to do extra work outside of his regular work hours, the lawsuit states.

Young worked at the police department for five years, according to federal paperwork.

Caudill was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, along with the City of Cave Springs.

Cave Springs police said Young was fired last year for falsifying records, but Young said he “believes race was a factor in his termination,” according to the lawsuit.

Young said the chief reacted negatively when the former officer told his boss he was contemplating filing bankruptcy, with Caudill allegedly saying such action would not be acceptable since he still owed money to people in the immediate community.

Young contends that a white officer in the department filed for bankruptcy and was not fired. He also points out the alleged indiscretions an in-department sergeant, who he said reports “to work while under the influence of alcohol,” which Young said the chief knows about.

The sergeant was not fired, despite the allegations, and “creates a substantial danger to the public since the officer’s impairment could influence his judgment on the use of deadly force,” the lawsuit states.

The suit went on to quote the Arkansas Civil Rights Act outlawing discrimination in matters of employment.