Discrimination lawsuit by Black officers against UW Police Department heads to trial

A jury trial is scheduled to begin Monday in a case involving dozens of claims of racial discrimination at the University of Washington Police Department. Five Black officers filed the lawsuit two years ago, claiming that racism in the department was pervasive. Four of the officers have since left the agency.

In the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court, the five officers said while working at the University of Washington Police Department, they experienced widespread acts of racial harassment and discrimination, including use of racial slurs, racist stereotypes, physical intimidation, and preferential treatment of white officers.

“They are alleging that they were subjected to a hostile work environment based on race, gender and sexual orientation," said Attorney Toby Marshall, who represents the plaintiffs. "They’re also alleging that they were retaliated against for speaking up.”

Marshall said the evidence in the case would show that the incidents of racism in the UW Police Department started to ramp up around the time of George Floyd's murder and the nationwide protests that followed.

In court filings, one Black officer said he overheard a white colleague say that Floyd’s “Black ass got what he deserved.”

One plaintiff said the brake line in his vehicle was cut after the lawsuit was filed, while another officer said someone “fired some kind of gun at his home, putting a hole through a window and shattering it.”