Opinion ID: 1451762
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Initial Actions

Text: The instant case had its genesis in 1978 when plaintiffs, an organization of Black police officers known as the Bridgeport Guardians, Inc., and three individual Black police officers, sued the City of Bridgeport and its Police Commissioners in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, alleging racial discrimination and free speech violations within the Bridgeport Police Department (Department). See Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Delmonte, 553 F.Supp. 601, 604 (D.Conn. 1982). The Department had already been the target of a number of discrimination suits resulting in federal court orders going back to 1972. See Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Members of Bridgeport Civil Serv. Comm'n, 354 F.Supp. 778, 782, 798-800 & n. 16 (D.Conn.1973) (enjoining use of patrolman's examination found to have adverse impact on Black and Puerto Rican candidates, and imposing hiring and promotion quotas to remedy past discrimination), aff'd in part and rev'd in part, 482 F.2d 1333 (2d Cir.1973) (holding promotion quotas unwarranted but affirming in all other respects), modified order aff'd, 497 F.2d 1113 (2d Cir.1974); Bridgeport Guardians v. Bridgeport Police Dep't, 431 F.Supp. 931, 941 (D.Conn.1977) (rejecting challenge to Department's detective examination, but noting that the distressing absence of minority group members from the supervisory ranks of the [Department] should be a cause for continuing concern by responsible officials). While the previous suits had focused on the disparate impact of the Department's hiring and promotion procedures, the plaintiffs in the 1978 suit claimed the Department was intentionally discriminating against Black and Hispanic police officers, and then retaliating against those who complained about the violation of their constitutional rights. See Delmonte, 553 F.Supp. at 607-18. The district court agreed, holding defendants' actions violated Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Delmonte, 553 F.Supp. at 607-18. It specifically found a pattern of intentional discrimination in (1) the way the Department assigned police officers to its internal divisions, geographic areas, and individual partners, (2) the way the Department carried out disciplinary procedures, and (3) the overall environment in which police officers were forced to work. Id. It found Black police officers were almost entirely excluded from assignments to the Department's more prestigious divisions, and were effectively segregated within the patrol division by being regularly paired as partners with other minority officers. Id. at 607-10, 12-13. Black and Hispanic officers in the patrol division were then disproportionately assigned to high crime areas. Id. at 610-12. In addition, the court found Black officers were very likely to be disciplined or fired for conduct that was generally ignored when committed by White police officers. Id. at 613-14. Moreover, Black officers were frequently harassed and subjected to racial slurs and disparaging remarks within the Department that were not only tolerated, but also were engaged in by supervisory personnel, which included the head of the Department. Id. at 614-16. Among many examples of shocking harassment was a displayed poster one that the court assumed was approved by supervisory personnelin which a Black man, identified by a racial epithet, was portrayed as a target to be shot at. Id. at 615.