A white officer in St. Louis has filed a lawsuit against the city and two Black officials alleging that he wasn’t promoted to police chief because of his race.
According to the Daily Beast, Michael Sack is suing the city of St. Louis, Mayor Tishaura Jones, and Interim Public Safety Director Daniel Isom on allegations of racial discrimination.
Sack claims that his “race was a determining factor, motivating factor, or played a part in the [city’s] decision to not promote him…even though he was qualified to be Commissioner/Chief.”
According to the suit, Sack has been “consistently promoted through the ranks” since his start at the St. Louis Police Department in 1994. The officer was named lieutenant colonel, the department’s second in command, in 2019.
When the St. Louis police chief announced his retirement in September 2021, Sack claims he was one of only two officers who submitted an application that met the role’s qualifications and passed a written test. Sack alleges that Jones told the two qualifying officers that neither of them would be chosen as police chief because she “only had two white male candidates to choose from and St. Louis is more diverse than white males.”
Sack, who claims he earned a perfect score on the written test, said he then tried to schedule an interview with Isom, who was tasked with choosing the next police chief, to no avail. In May 2022, the city reopened its application for police chief with lower minimum qualification, which the suit alleges is a violation of its charter.
Sack was named interim chief when the former chief officially retired in June 2022, leading the department through a school shooting, according to the lawsuit.
“Sack was commended for his communication with the public on the day of the incident and over the days that followed,” the lawsuit states.
However, when Sack again applied for the permanent position, he was rejected because the city wanted a Black police commissioner, according to the lawsuit. The city eventually settled for Robert Tracy, an outside white candidate, “when no African American candidate was left to select,” the suit states.
Sack claims to have suffered “lost income and a resulting loss in his retirement benefits because he was not promoted.” The suit also states he is seeking damages for the “mental anguish,” “humiliation,” and the “loss of enjoyment of life” he’s experienced.
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