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Case
43: Milwaukee Police Reverse Discrimination |
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Case
43 Index:
| 1 |
Milwaukee
Police Report |
| 2 |
Milwaukee
Demographics |
| 3 |
The
Plaintiffs |
| 4 |
Attorney
for the Plaintiffs |
| 5 |
Footnotes
/ Sources |
| 6 |
Additional
Reading |
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|
Black
former Milwaukee police chief Arthur Jones promoted less-qualified minorities and women
ahead of 17 white officers. A federal jury awarded the officers $2.2 million for
reverse discrimination.
| [Adversity.Net Posted June 5, 2005] -- A federal jury found that
Milwaukee's former black police chief, Arthur Jones, repeatedly and intentionally
by-passed the 17 white male officers for promotions in favor of less qualified women and
minority candidates.
"...everyone Jones promoted to captain after less than two years in a lieutenant's
job was not a white male." -- Plaintiff's attorney William Rettko. |
Milwaukee is located in the lower Eastern corner of Wisconsin. |
|
Site
Index |
(1) The Milwaukee Police Report |
 |
| ADVERSITY.NET REPORT:
"Jurors awarded a total of nearly $2.2 million Tuesday [April 5, 2005] to 17 white
police officers who won a discrimination lawsuit against a former [black] police chief
[Arthur Jones] and the city." |
1 |
| U.S. District Judge
Thomas Curran in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
presided over the trial. |
|
 |
"The Milwaukee Police
Department and Jones were found to have engaged in reverse discrimination in promotions to
captain in a month-long trial. Jones made 41 promotions to captain over the seven
years he served as police chief." |
2 |
|
"Jones appointed 41 captains,
20 of whom were not white men, during his tenure, in which the pool of lieutenants was
consistently composed of more than 80% white men." |
2.1 |
|
"[Plaintiff's attorney William
Rettko] said several times that Jones had favored promoting members of minorities because
he feared a 'white conspiracy' against him. 'The chief views the world in black and
white terms,' Rettko said." |
2.2 |
Former Milwaukee Police Chief Arthur Jones. |
"[During the trial, attorney]
Rettko sent each of his plaintiffs to the [witness] stand to discuss his credentials
at length and his thoughts about how those who were promoted compared. Often times, the
comparison favored the 17 plaintiffs, which Rettko underscored by repeating that everyone
Jones promoted to captain after less than two years in a lieutenant's job was not a
white male." [Emphasis added.] |
|
2.3 |
|
" 'Things need to be done
differently than they've been done in the past,' said Rettko, who was flanked by all 17
officers on the courthouse steps. 'We're hopeful that message was sent loud and
clear to everyone.' " |
3 |
|
"Jury foreman Tom Groescel
said the most persuasive testimony came from [former chief] Jones, who is black, in
explaining how he promoted employees. 'They were just subjective. There was no
criteria to base with anything,' Groescel said. 'For heaven's sakes, look at peoples'
evaluations.' " |
4 |
|
"[On the witness stand, the
plaintiff's] descriptions of years of sleepless nights, strained marriages and stunted
careers turned out to be the only testimony that will be heard in the damages phase of the
suit. Several of the plaintiffs seemed surprised when the defense counsel, Assistant City
Attorney Miriam Horwitz, said she would not call any witnesses." |
5 |
| "The
plaintiffs' testimony dwelt on common themes of how much each man had suffered, mentally
and physically, once they became convinced [that former black chief] Jones wouldn't
promote them. Their attorney, William Rettko, summed up their ailments in his opening
statement: 'Sleepless nights, the anxiety, the depression, the marital strain that this
has caused them, the self-esteem loss, the embarrassment.' " |
6 |
|
"The plaintiffs' frank
descriptions of personal anguish can factor into their award amounts, if the jury accepts
them at face value. Several plaintiffs also testified that the act of filing the
suit, no matter the merits, effectively short-circuited their careers by alienating them
within the MPD." |
7 |
|
"... Bradley DeBraska, former
president of the Milwaukee police union, was pleased with the U.S. District Court jury's
decision Tuesday that found Jones participated in reverse discrimination. 'This
speaks volumes as to the promotional process and how it should be conducted and that it
should be on merit and competency and not on race, gender, or sexual orientation or other
protected characteristics,' DeBraska said." |
8 |
"[The] federal jury set the
cost of former Police Chief Arthur Jones' discrimination against [the] 17 white male
lieutenants at nearly $2.2 million Tuesday afternoon [April 5, 2005], ending a month long
trial and the officers' two-year effort to prove the black police chief was biased.
'I don't want to gloat or anything,' said their attorney, William Rettko, 'but I'm
pleased.'
"The jury, which last week
found that each plaintiff had been wrongfully passed over multiple times for promotions to
captain in favor of less-qualified women and members of ethnic minorities, took less than
four hours to decide the damages." |
9 |
|
"Compensatory damages ranged
from $9,500 to $50,000 for each of the officers, while each should also get $102,000 in
punitive damages from the city." |
9.1 |
|
" 'Total victory,' proclaimed
lead plaintiff Steven Alexander, a police lieutenant, into his cell phone after the
verdict, which could cost the city millions and force immediate promotions to captain for
the 13 plaintiffs who are still lieutenants." |
10 |
Adversity.Net
Special Report: Excerpted from various news sources. See Footnotes below, or click on the appropriate Footnote Number next to the text for
complete source attribution.
(2) Milwaukee Demographics |
|
 |
According to the
U.S. Census 2000, racial minorities comprise only 13% of Wisconsin's population. 87%
of Wisconsin's population is white. Nonetheless, about
50% of former Milwaukee police chief Arthur Jones' promotions to captain were minorities
and women in spite of the facts that:
(A) Wisconsin's population is only 13% minorities; and
(B) 80% of the promotion pool (lieutenants who were eligible and qualified for promotion)
were white males. |
Milwaukee and
certain other cities and counties in Wisconsin have attracted a much higher concentration
of minorities than the more rural areas of the state. There are several reasons that
only a few urbanized counties in Wisconsin have attracted such a disproportionate number
of minority residents:
- Government and private sector jobs
are more plentiful in these counties.
- Affirmative action programs and
racial quotas are used by all government employers and most private employers in these
urbanized counties.
- The tax base in these counties and
cities is high enough to be able to support a wide range of social services and welfare
programs.
|
The highest concentration of non-whites in Wisconsin is in the counties and cities with
the strongest racial quota programs and 'social services' (welfare). |
(3) The Plaintiffs |
 |
Steven Alexander
David Vahl
Edward Liebrecht
Ronald Quackenbush
Keith A. Balash
Charles A. Berard
Michael R. Brunow
James C. Cleveland |
Joseph J. Farina
John Malloy Hagen
William E. Heinen
Wayne W. Jensen
Thomas P. Klusman
Anthony T. Smith
Steven J. Spingola
Kim R. Stack
Michael D. Young |
(4) Attorney for the 17 White Officers |
|
William Rettko of the Rettko Law Offices, S.C., has won many cases for aggrieved police
officers. This case represents his latest victory.
Attorney
Contact Info:
William Rettko
Rettko Law Offices
15430 West Capitol Drive
Brookfield, WI 53005
Tel: (262) 783-7200
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(5) Milwaukee Police Story Footnotes: |
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(6) Recommended Additional Reading |
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43: Milwaukee Police Reverse Discrimination |
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