An East Orange, NJ Captain, who sued that city because
he was passed over for promotion to Chief in favor of a black Lieutenant that scored lower on the Chief's Test, settled
out of court in his favor.
Captain Richard Wright was immediately appointed Acting Chief of the East Orange Police Department, after agreeing to an out of court settlement in which Wright would get $50,000 back pay, legal fees, and the promotion, while the Chief was forced into Administrative Leave pending retirement.
Wright sued the city because the Mayor of East Orange at the time the Chief's List came out, Cardell Cooper, who is black, stated publicly that he would only make a black police chief. Wright was #1 on the list, and the Lieutenant that was eventually promoted, Harry Harman, was sixth. Wright also settled for the small amount of $50,000 in back pay, even though the case has been going on for over eight years, because, according to his remarks in NY TIMES, "This was not about money. This was about right and wrong." Wright also was given about $100,000 for legal fees.
An interesting side-story about this incident, as reported in the Times, was that the settlement came about after the testimony of the former Mayor Cooper, who stated on the stand that, although race was not a factor in the promotion of Harman, he "never considered other candidates..." even though Captain Wright had written first on the list, and had excellent academic and police credentials.
The present Mayor of East Orange, Robert L. Browser, foresaw a large reward for Captain Wright because of Cooper's testimony, and pushed for the settlement. Chief Harman, however, was not eligible for retirement until the end of the month, hence, they placed him on the administrative leave until that time. The alternative for Harman was to return to his former rank of Lieutenant at less pay. He now will retire at the Chief's pay.
The present Mayor had sharp words for the actions of his predecessor: "Following...Cardell Cooper's testimony....this case would have placed the taxpayers in a position of losing millions of dollars," and "...he (Cooper) left a mess here and we're trying to clean it up."
Former Mayor Cooper is presently awaiting appointment as an Assistant Secretary within the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, within the Clinton Administration.
