News

City facing big potential payout in race-retaliation case

Posted January 11, 2008 10:00 pm

Sarah Antonacci

A federal jury Friday awarded $150,000 to former Springfield police lieutenant Rickey Davis, but that apparently is just a fraction of what the city could owe if it does not appeal or loses an appeal of the racial-retaliation decision.

The jury found for Davis, who is black, on one of six counts - that he was retaliated against for speaking out about racial issues within the Springfield Police Department. The panel of five women and four men rejected similar claims by another black ex-police lieutenant, Lea Joy.

The verdict's cost to the city could be much higher than $150,000.

Ernie Slottag, a spokesman for the city, said he did not know how much Davis' legal fees will be, but Davis' former attorney, Courtney Cox of Benton, predicted in 2005 that they would top $1 million if the city went to trial and lost even one of the counts.

The lawsuit was filed in January 2003 by nine current or former black Springfield police officers. Some of the original plaintiffs were eventually dismissed from the case and one, Renatta Frazier, settle out of court with the city for $850,000. That left Davis and Joy, whose original trial a year ago ended in a mistrial.

The two are now represented by attorneys Shari Rhode of Carbondale and Zoe Newton of Springfield.

Further court filings on the issue of attorneys' fee are expected. In August 2005, Cox, who is now the top federal prosecutor for southern Illinois, told The State Journal-Register his legal fees at that time topped $480,000.

At the time, Cox urged the city to hold settlement talks, but the city rejected them, asserting that it would win the case. Mayor Tim Davlin said Friday he was not aware of any settlement offered by the city, and that even if one had been, it likely would have been too small for the plaintiffs.

The jury ruled that Davis deserved compensation on the grounds that he was the victim of retaliation when city police officials declined to transfer him back to the detective division, as he had requested.

"I feel great!" Davis said outside the courthouse. "I feel good, justice. Now it's time to move forward. We had a fair trial, a good trial, and I'm pleased."

The jury rejected four other retaliation claims by Davis, as well as Joy's allegations that she was retaliated against in 2001 for speaking out on racial issues and that her work environment was hostile. Davis and Joy were among the highest-ranking black city police officers when they left the department, Davis last year and Joy in 2004.

Joy refused to comment following the verdict.

Davis said he was sorry for Joy.

"Lea suffered while she was there, and I observed it, so I feel bad for her," he said.

Davlin noted that the jury "completely dismissed" six allegations, ruling against the city on only one.

However, he added, "We have to be cognizant that Lt. Davis and Lt. Joy both felt at least in their hearts they had a right to be here ... and the jury did rule at least once in their favor."

Davlin, who's served as mayor since 2003, said he believes things have changed at the Springfield Police Department.

"The other thing we have to look at, and I'd say the same thing no matter how the jury came back, is that this is a chapter in the police department from the mid-1990s to 2002 that's over now," he said.

"It's been a long trial … and it's something that's behind us. We've got to focus on the future."

Davlin said he was heartened by the testimony he heard over the past week.

"I wish the average citizen could probably hear every single thing that I heard," he said. "I feel so much better about it. You hear the real facts when you're sitting in the courtroom. I feel much better about our Springfield Police Department, really, today than I even did just a few weeks ago."

Davis still has two other lawsuits pending against the city.

One is a retaliation claim left over from a September lawsuit in which he said he was improperly denied a promotion to deputy chief of investigations. A federal jury found last fall that he was not discriminated against in connection with the promotion itself, but Davis said he later was ostracized and targeted for discipline as a result of his questioning the promotion.

The jury in this case heard testimony for six days and began considering a verdict Thursday afternoon. They reached their decision Friday afternoon.

Several jurors leaving the building refused to comment. Attempts to reach them at their homes were unsuccessful.

Staff writer Chris Wetterich contributed to this report. Sarah Antonacci can be reached at (217) 788-1529.

Article Categories
News