Lt. Christopher Barella, who is a white male, successfully sued the village of Freeport in Long Island, NY for racial discrimination after he was denied the opportunity to even interview for the position of Chief of Police. Barella was awarded $1.35 million overall, which includes $200,000 in punitive damages. The village of Freeport will also have to pay his legal fees and all court costs related to the proceeding.
According to documents filed in Barella’s claim, the village under mayor Andrew Hardwick’s leadership chose Miguel Bermudez, an officer of hispanic origin, who had fewer academic qualifications and scored lower on the application test for Chief, on the basis of race only. The jury agreed.
The qualifications between the two applicants were dramatic. Barrella’s resume included a top score on the Chief’s civil service exam, compared to a third-place finish by successful applicant Bermudez. Barrella’s supplementary credentials included a law degree, a master’s degree in public administration, specialized training at the FBI academy, and many years in service. Mr. Bermudez, by contrast, had a high school diploma and was a junior member of the department.
“I am very gratified that the jury ruled that I deserved to be chief of police,” Mr. Barrella said in a statement. “Throughout this entire process, I have tried to maintain a positive attitude and do my best for the department and the village of Freeport and will continue to do so. It has been a long and trying process, but I always had faith that if we could present our case to a jury of my peers, they would see that I was discriminated against.”
The village has stated it intends to appeal.
At the time of the application and decision making process, the village of Freeport was headed by a black mayor, Andrew Hardwick. Barella’s suit not only alleged discrimination in the hiring process for Chief, but also that Hardwick systematically discriminated against other non-hispanic whites, who were demoted and/or terminated.
In case readers might think this is a one-off event, Barella is not the only white police officer who alleged Harwick practiced overt racial discrimination during his tenure of mayor.
In 2010, officer Debbie Zagaja, stepped forward and alleged that she was demoted from her position as deputy chief and replaced with a less experienced non white male hispanic member of the force, solely on the basis of her race and gender.
Debbie Zagaja, 47, was the deputy chief in the Freeport Police Department for three years. She was demoted in March to a lieutenant. Zagaja filed suit.
In her lawsuit filed, Zagaja alleges that she was demoted and passed over for promotion because of her sex and race and was replaced by a less experienced Hispanic male — who was the department’s most junior lieutenant, CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan reports.
Zagaja, a 24-year veteran of the force, names Village Mayor Andrew Hardwick in her suit, as having a racist and bigoted agenda. She claims that her case is part of an established pattern of discrimination against whites.
“He is making decisions based on a black-white thing,” Zagaja said.