A former member of the Folsom Police Department in California is suing the city for racial discrimination after he was fired for sending racist text messages.
The Sacramento Bee reports that attorneys representing one-time Folsom Police Department Officer James Dorris, who is of Asian descent, filed a complaint in which they claimed that racist harassment of their client led to "severe emotional distress, wage loss and loss of benefits, diminution of his lifetime pension benefits, damage to his career."
Dorris is claiming that his fellow officers placed "anti-Asian and racially offensive" stickers on his locker that his attorneys said would "destroy his morale at the beginning of each shift." The suit also alleges that a sergeant on the force would make mocking efforts at mimicking Asian accents.
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But Christine Brainerd, a spokeswoman for the city of Folsom, tells the Sacramento Bee that Dorris' lawsuit appears retaliatory in nature given that he was fired for a series of racist messages, as well as other complaints about his conduct.
Among other things, Dorris sent a text message on January 19th, 2020, where he pledged to "arrest as many Blacks as I can tomorrow to celebrate" Martin Luther King Day.
Nonetheless, Brainerd emphasized that "the city of Folsom does not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment and takes these allegations seriously."
