Former RTD Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald sues Colorado's Regional Transportation District, alleges racial discrimination
Joel Fitzgerald, the former chief of the Regional Transit District's police department, is suing the agency, claiming he was wrongly terminated and alleging racial discrimination.
In the 18-page federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Fitzgerald alleged that RTD's police force had longstanding employees, some of whom were passed over for a promotion to police chief, who held personal and racial grudges against Fitzgerald, who is Black.
Prior to his firing, Fitzgerald filed an EEO complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
"RTD fired Dr. Fitzgerald on September 20, 2024, based on false allegations, a racially biased investigation, and in retaliation for his EEO complaint," Fitzgerald says, through his attorneys, in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit marks the first time Fitzgerald has communicated publicly in any capacity about his September firing.
RTD and its CEO Debra Johnson have also remained tight-lipped about Fitzgerald's suspension and subsequent firing.
On Wednesday, RTD told CBS News Colorado it had no comment on the lawsuit.
After reporting Fitzgerald was "terminated for cause," RTD responded to an open records request saying it had no records of termination or separation for Fitzgerald. Officials have repeatedly refused to comment on Fitzgerald for previous stories. However, on Nov. 5, RTD provided CBS News Colorado with the Sept. 20 termination letter the agency gave to Fitzgerald after an open records request.
That letter mentioned several violations of RTD policy, including use of excessive speed while driving an RTD Police Department vehicle, speeds of up to 100 mph more than 23 times between Nov. 21, 2023 and Feb. 7, 2024; improperly attempted to have firearms purchased on an RTD P-card; approved a business trip for staff after the trip had been denied because it violated the Code of Ethics. The letter can be read in its entirety below.
CBS Colorado requested the GPS data for Fitzgerald's vehicle and had our investigative national data team plot it. That data shows in one day he was tracked going over 90 mph multiple times, at a top speed of 104 mph. See the complete results of the data investigation:
Fitzgerald claims in his lawsuit that he was subjected to "unprofessional outbursts in high-level leadership meetings," false allegations from White officers and investigations into him and other Black officers and employees "at disproportionately higher rates than White officers/employees" and for alleged infractions that White employees had never previously been investigated for.
In August, CBS News Colorado reported that Fitzgerald rarely visited RTD facilities, according to data from his security badge obtained through an open records request. Fitzgerald alleged in the lawsuit that a police union official and an unknown RTD official "leaked" his personal information, "resulting in the media's repeated harassment," and GPS location data to the news media, "endangering Dr. Fitzgerald's safety," he said.
While his official employment status through the agency was listed as "terminated for cause," Fitzgerald says cause did not exist, meaning his firing represents a breach of contract.
Fitzgerald is asking for a jury trial, court records show. A message was left with his attorney seeking comment for this story Tuesday afternoon.
Fitzgerald was hired by RTD as chief of police and emergency management in August 2022 and, from his first day, was one of the highest-paid police chiefs in the state.
RTD provided CBS News Colorado with the termination letter the agency gave to Fitzgerald. See the copy below:
