Harvard University Officer Alleges Racial Discrimination In Lawsuit
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) - "I love what I do, I take a lot of pride, very compassionate in my duties as a Harvard police officer and I take a lot of pride in that."
Those are the words of Harvard University police officer George Pierce who says his love of the job and 30 years of law enforcement experience arms him with the qualifications to be a sergeant on the department, a position he says he's been denied because of his race.
WBZ-TV's Kathy Curran reports
His lawyer, Ellen Messing, says that's the heart of a civil suit that's been filed on Pierce's behalf.
"The hardest thing for Officer Pierce has been the feeling that no matter what he accomplished that would not allow him to get the promotion he had earned," Messing said.
Pierce has been a police officer at Harvard since May of 2002.
He says since that time, nine officers have been promoted to sergeant and none of the promoted officers were minorities.
In the civil suit, Pierce claims he's been denied promotions again and again because he's African American.
The suit also describes a racist environment saying, "Supervisory officers in the department have routinely made racial remarks, statements such as 'I hate blacks.'"
Messing adds that comments were made reflecting a general dislike of people of color and insulting terms were used to refer to certain racial groups.
The experienced cop hopes his actions will improve the racial climate at Harvard University and hopes he gets the title he says he deserves.
Harvard University declined comment because this is a personnel matter and pending litigation.
