Former UCSC police lieutenant awarded $7.2 million against University of California
(KRON)– Former UC Santa Cruz Police Department Lieutenant Glenn Harper is being awarded $7.2 million for racial discrimination against the University of California, RLS lawyers report.
Lieutenant Harper was fired in 2017 for “yelling at a sergeant for botching an assault with a deadly weapons investigation”, said Harry Stern, one of the two lawyers who tried for Harper.
During an interview for promotion, the sergeant who got yelled at was described to have a ”racial animus” toward Harper, insulting him with counts of illiteracy such as Harper “reading at a third or fourth grade level”, and labeling his English as “non-traditional,” Stern said. Harper’s lawyer claims these comments were made “because Harper had been promoted over him.”
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Stern said these comments were unjust, as Harper “is a college graduate from San Jose State University, and “certainly a perfectly proficient writer and speaker of English.”
The lieutenant’s demands for justice dates back to 2017, and have now been met for counts of “back pay, future pay, prospective promotions, related benefits, mental anguish and emotional distress” for a total verdict of $7.2 million.
As a lawyer that “represents police officers for a living”, Stern claims an instance of racial discrimination like Harper’s is “too common”, as Stern has said that many of his clients have often said that “many departments discriminate against black officers, historically.”
Harry Stern and his partner John Scott who tried together would like to thank the jury for a month-long process that was “received with patience and hard work.”
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