A black police chief in Colorado files a racial discrimination lawsuit after his firing

DENVER — The black former police chief of a small Colorado town says he was the victim of racial profiling and fired after police and city leaders worked to force him out, although he was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent investigator , according to a federal lawsuit.

Hal Edwards, who sued the city of Leadville, 75 miles southwest of Denver, in U.S. District Court in Denver on April 30, says in the lawsuit that city manager Laurie Simonson undermined his decision-making and leadership during his 18 months in office. position because he is black.

“If we speak to any African-American who is in a position of authority over a white work group, our integrity is questioned, our competence is questioned and we are often undermined by subordinates,” Edwards said in an interview.

“In this specific case, this is evidenced by the way Administrator Simonson undermined my authority. It may not be blatant, direct, call-me-my-word racism, but it is, in fact, racism.

Edwards was appointed police chief in Leadville, which has a population of 2,600 people, 12 of whom are black, in August 2021 by the mayor at the time, Greg Labbe. Edwards was the only black employee at the nine people Police department.

Simonson, Labbe and Mayor Dana Greene could not be reached for comment.

Edwards also said in the lawsuit that he was not given the tools he needed to succeed, such as funding to hire an assistant chief, and that previous white department heads were not subjected to the same treatment he received from city leaders.

Edwards said he filed a complaint with the police department on Nov. 23, 2022, alleging he was a victim of discrimination because he was treated unfairly and Simonson undermined his disciplinary efforts.

He claims in the federal lawsuit that Simonson dismissed his complaint without investigating it.

Several officers filed written complaints with Simonson, alleging that Edwards was a “toxic” leader who belittled employees and ignored his duties as chief. He did not cite specific duties that he claimed he ignored.

An independent investigation by Employment Matter LLC, a Denver-based company that conducts workplace investigations, largely cleared Edwards after reviewing the officers’ complaints.

“Officers allege unsubstantiated complaints against Edwards that appear to be mischaracterized as serious offenses,” investigators wrote in the report. They added that officials seemed to criticize almost every aspect of Edwards’ tenure, hoping that some minor transgression would violate some policy.

Investigators found that Edwards used profanity in the workplace.

“The most serious allegations against Edwards include gender, military and marital discrimination and retaliation. These allegations also lack substance,” the report said.

The officers who filed the complaint were unhappy with the findings and threatened to go on strike, Edwards said in his lawsuit.

Simonson banned Edwards from publicly discussing the report and placed him on paid administrative leave after speaking about the matter at a community meeting in November 2022, the suit says.

Weeks after Edwards was placed on leave, Simonson gave him the option of returning to work under conditions that would have undermined his leadership and guaranteed his failure, such as being placed on a performance improvement plan without specific requirements, the suit says.

City leaders turned down a proposal from Edwards’ lawyers to mediate the terms of his return, Edwards said, and he was fired on Feb. 3, 2023.

Edwards, who moved to Leadville 14 years ago after having worked for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, said he was fired without ever receiving a job evaluation.

Edwards, who was appointed last month as a Democratic Lake County commissioner to help govern the county, is asking for unspecified damages.