Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Rockland County and Its Sheriff’s
Department Reveals Violations of Correction Officers 1st and 14th Amendment Rights
New York, New York March 18, 2002 - Attorneys
representing three Rockland County Correction Officers today filed a
federal civil complaint against Rockland County and its Sheriff’s
Department. The complaint, filed in United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York, brings to light a pattern of racist
conduct committed by officials in the Sheriff’s Department. The three
plaintiffs, a white male of German descent, an African-American male and
an African-American female, claim that they were wrongfully disciplined
by their supervisors, who, among other things, depicted their faces on
racist flyers and directed racial epithets at them, all within the
confines of a taxpayer-financed facility, the Rockland County Sheriff’s
Department.
According to the complaint, after the three correction
officers had complained to their supervisors that the Sheriff’s
Department had improperly reduced the number of full time correction
officers in the Transport Division (New York State Commission of
Corrections requires that there be at least nine full time correction
officers in the Transport Division, particularly for safety reasons),
they were allegedly harassed by both their supervisors and by part time
transport officers who among other things, created a flyer, which
superimposed their faces on the body of a Nazi Officer in the company of
Adolph Hitler. Indeed, it was reported that a department manager
personally posted this flyer.
When the three correction officers objected to this
outrageous behavior, not only were they further ridiculed, they were
transferred to work in the Jail Division, resulting in a loss of their
seniority in the Department. Specifically, after one African-American
correction officer began to complain about this treatment, a part time
transport officer asked him whether he could “talk Black to him” and
whether he “wanted a coupon for fried chicken.” All of these remarks
were made in earshot of one of the supervising lieutenants, who did
nothing to reprimand the part time transport officer.
Speaking on behalf of the three Correction Officers,
William Hickey, President of the Correction Officer’s Benevolent
Association of Rockland County stated, “What occurred here is a clear
violation of the New York State Commission of Correction Mandates.
Replacing full time correction officers with less experienced, less
qualified, part time transport officers endangers public safety. A
destructive smear campaign was clearly waged against those officers who
were considering the public’s best interest and trying to prevent this
violation from continuing. What we’re talking about here is the
well-being of the entire Rockland County community.”
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For further information, members of the press are
invited to attend a news conference with the President of the Correction
Officers Benevolent Association of Rockland County, the three
plaintiffs, and their attorneys, on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at 12:00 PM
in the law offices of Koehler & Isaacs, LLP, 120 Broadway 29th
Floor, New York, NY 10271. Telephone: 917-551-1300.
Koehler & Isaacs LLP is a full service law firm,
which specializes in labor and employment law. The firm’s Senior
Partner, Richard J. Koehler, is a former Commissioner of the New York
City Department of Corrections and former Chief of Personnel of the New
York City Police Department.