[Puffer Fish]

A jury in King County decided that five Black police officers who worked at the University of Washington Seattle should be awarded $16 million. The five Black police officers claimed they had suffered years of racist comments, harassment and discrimination by supervisors and colleagues.

According to the 2021 complaint and trial testimony, the officers were targets of routine racial slurs that were part of a hostile work environment. Among the allegations was the use of a racist slur by police supervisors and an instance where one Black officer found a banana and racist note by her locker.

The lawsuit alleged the UW administration knew of the issues, which smoldered for years, but did little. When a cadre of white police officers complained and eventually drove out the department’s first Black police chief, with some openly complaining that he was hiring too many Black officers, a university-sponsored investigation never considered racism as a motive, the lawsuit alleged.

The officers allegedly experienced widespread acts of racial harassment and discrimination within the department, including racist stereotypes, physical intimidation and preferential treatment of white officers.

The university put out an official statement calling the lawsuit's allegations "deeply disturbing and counter to the UW's commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive and equitable community."

The police officers are Russell Ellis, Gabriel Golden, Hamani Nowlen, Damien Taylor, and Karinn Young, who was the university police force's only Black woman.​

Jury awards $16M to 5 University of Washington officers in racial discrimination lawsuit, by Mike Carter, The Seattle Times, December 22, 2023


If true, those involved should face workplace discipline and be punished.

But should those Black police officers get huge amounts of taxpayer money?

This seems insane to me.

And how are we even going to know for sure that claims of racism are true, when everyone knows those claiming to be victims stand to get lots of money?
It could be very possible these officers exaggerated what happened to try to maximize their chances of winning and getting lots of money in the lawsuit.

Many of those on the Left seem to be of the mentality that individuals who suffer an injustice or mistreatment deserve to get money from the rest of society, to compensate them.
But the thing is, where is that money actually coming from?
I don't have a problem with disciplining or punishing the individuals responsible for the misconduct, but do we really need to bring payouts of money into the picture?

I just get the feeling that most progressives on the Left have a very different idea of what "justice" is.

I think a lot of this stems from an attitude of entitlement as well, just wanting lots of free money, thinking that money will just come from somewhere else.
Or maybe trying to "socialize" all the losses, so all of society suffers equally.

My question is why do we have to bring money into the picture to deal with injustices?
I could understand if the university did not pay money that was owed and had been in the employment agreement, but something like that was not the case. In my opinion money should only ever be involved when there are real physical damages, like property was damaged, or someone suffered injury.


related threads:
Jury awarded black worker $137 million in lawsuit for being called N-word (posted in Law & Justice, 12 May 2023 )
We need to STOP giving alleged rape victims any money (posted in Morals & Ethics, 14 Dec 2022 )

[MistyTiger]

Why take issue with the amount of money? The judge decides the award amount. The plaintiffs will have to dole out a percentage to their lawyers, get taxed on it by the IRS and Washington State also has state taxes. So the men aren't getting the full amount. Also, how do you know they won't donate large amounts to charities, foundations or rec centers? We don’t know and it's none of our concern.

Racism is no joke. I am glad that these officers won the fight. No one should have to suffer in silence. I know what racism feels like. I will probably never sue for it and that's fine by me, lawsuits are uncomfortable and tedious.

[Rancid]

Why take issue with the amount of money?

Because it's the only thing he can hide is own racial prejudices behind.

[MadMonk]

If true, those involved should face workplace discipline and be punished.

But should those Black police officers get huge amounts of taxpayer money?

Well, skimming through the article suggests that the racism appears systemic in nature. The point of lawsuits and high damage rewards is to correct behavior on a systemic level, i.e. nothing gets done before the pain of doing nothing becomes unbearable. $16 million doesn't strike me as a huge amount in an American context and with five plaintiffs involved.

[Rancid]

I also find this "but the waste of tax payer money" angle more bad faith bullshit.

1. If it cleans up this department for the better. It's a good use of money.
2. We waste so much money on other nonsense like suburban sprawl. Go look at that if you want to complain about wasted tax dollars.

[Pants-of-dog]

Are lawsuits paid with taxpayer money?

I think the defendants are the ones who have to pay.

[Rancid]

Are lawsuits paid with taxpayer money?

I think the defendants are the ones who have to pay.

Good question. I think it depends if the suit was against the whole police department, or individuals in the department...... I think.

[ThirdTerm]

It seems that there was a white employee of campus police who was responsible for most of these alleged racist incidents. Probably there was a lack of oversight because the campus police department is not subject to the local law enforcement agencies and run by former police officers who got dismissed for some misconduct.

UW officials said they were disappointed with the verdict and are reviewing their options, including a possible appeal. In a statement, the school said the alleged issues occurred under previous leadership and weren’t reported via official channels.

The lawsuit also claimed a White cadre of UW police officers forced the department’s first Black police chief to resign, with some complaining he hired too many unqualified applicants, which the lawsuit claims actually meant African Americans, reports the Seattle Times.

https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/ne ... -officers/

[Puffer Fish]

Are lawsuits paid with taxpayer money?

I think the defendants are the ones who have to pay.

It is a state funded university. Any lawsuits are probably ultimately going to be paid for from taxpayer funds, or less money spent on educating the students. Of course this is indirect. The state provides money to the school.

In 2009 the state provided funding to the school equivalent to 10,000 dollars per student, with the rest coming from tuition and private donations.

It's also possible the money in the lawsuit could come from an increased tuition price, with students having to pay more.

[Cartertonian]

I think the amount paid is excessive, but nonetheless fairly typical of the US legal system.

I take issue with the OP's statement that, "In my opinion money should only ever be involved when there are real physical damages, like property was damaged, or someone suffered injury."

There almost certainly WERE real damages and injury, to the mental health of the police officers involved.

[Pants-of-dog]

It is a state funded university. Any lawsuits are probably ultimately going to be paid for from taxpayer funds, or less money spent on educating the students. Of course this is indirect. The state provides money to the school.

In 2009 the state provided funding to the school equivalent to 10,000 dollars per student, with the rest coming from tuition and private donations.

It's also possible the money in the lawsuit could come from an increased tuition price, with students having to pay more.

So no, this is not taxpayer money.

It is the school’s money.