After years of being forced to endure a work environment pervaded by race discrimination and retaliation that also contaminate relationships between police and the community, 13 Officers of Color with the Prince George’s Police Department, along with the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association and the United Black Police Officers Association, filed suit in federal court in Greenbelt challenging PGPD’s pattern and practice of unconstitutional conduct.
Their lawsuit, filed with the support of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, and Arnold & Porter, asks the court to find these PGPD policies and practices unlawful, to mandate comprehensive reforms, and to provide justice to the officers and community members who have experienced this egregious mistreatment.
The plaintiffs are represented by John Freedman, Adam Pergament, Preston Smith, Mei-Wah Lee, Danait Mengist and Kaitlin Robinson from Arnold & Porter; Jonathan Smith, Dennis Corkery, and Joanna Wasik from the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, and Deborah Jeon and Ieshaah Murphy from the ACLU of Maryland. Counsel received pro bono expert assistance and services from a team from BDO LLP led by Anthony Lendez, Marc Simon, Thomas Terranova, Joe Sremack, and Aron Finkelstein.
