Connecticut seems to be a hot spot for federal discrimination claims these days. First New Haven (Ricci v. DeStefano), now Bridgeport.
In 2008, 12 white firefighters filed suit against the city of Bridgeport for re-scoring a lieutenant exam, because too few minorities scored high enough to qualify for promotions. The case was settled last year.
This week, a federal appeals court allowed a group of white police officers in Bridgeport to intervene in the settlement of a discrimination case over 30 years old. In 1978, a group of black firefighters sued for discrimination. As a result of the case, the Bridgeport Police Department has been under supervision by a federal court. Intervening will allow the police officers to challenge any court action that impacts them. An excerpt:
“But the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New York City — consisting of Judges Jose A. Cabranes, a former chief district judge in Connecticut; Barrington D. Parker, who sits on several Yale University boards; and U.S. District Judge Carol Amon of Brooklyn, N.Y. — didn’t stop there.
“The panel questioned why the 32-year-old Guardians case, which resulted in the federal court overseeing operations of the Bridgeport Police Department’s dealings with black officers, is still active.
“Parker, in a strongly worded final paragraph, writes: ‘this case was filed in 1978 … the world has turned over many times since then. Except in highly unusual circumstances, it is the business of cities, not federal courts or special masters, to run police departments. At some point in time, this litigation has to be ended.’”
Blacks now account for 15 percent of supervisors in the department, and racial minorities comprise a third of all supervisors.
Download the 12-page case (PDF).
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