Corrections Officers File Suit Against Ramsey County, Alleging Racial Discrimination
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On Tuesday, attorneys representing eight correctional officers filed a new lawsuit against Ramsey County, alleging racial discrimination.
The case goes back to an incident that happened in the days after George Floyd's death, specifically Derek Chauvin's arrest on May 29. That afternoon, Chauvin was held in the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center.
A civil lawsuit now alleges the superintendent of that detention center, Steve Lydon, ordered that his correctional officers of color could not be on the same floor or interact with Chauvin.
Attorneys representing eight of those correctional officers accuse Lydon of segregating work based on the color of their skin.
"When officer Chauvin arrived, they were prepared to do their jobs they had done every single day up until that point. Until, that is, superintendent Lydon's order prevented them from doing so. The impact on our clients have been immense. They're deeply humiliated and distressed, and the bonds necessary for the high stress environment of the ADC have been broken," attorney Lucas Kaster said.
If this sounds familiar, it's because this same group filed a discrimination complaint with the Department of Human Rights in June. They've since dropped that in order to pursue this civil case.
Back in June, Lydon said he made this decision without the luxury of time, to avoid re-traumatizing officers of color. He said he reversed the decision 45 minutes after he made it.
