Gilbert v. City of Little Rock

Citation544 F. Supp. 1231
Decision Date13 August 1982
Docket NumberNo. LR-C-78-340.,LR-C-78-340.
PartiesJohnnie GILBERT, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, et al., Defendants. Julius Bryant, et al., Intervenors.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 8th Circuit. United States State District Court of Eastern District of Arkansas

Manuel L. Pruitt, Little Rock, Ark., and Roma J. Stewart, Washington, D. C., for plaintiffs.

Philip K. Lyon and Stephen W. Jones, House, Holmes & Jewell, and R. Jack Magruder, III, Asst. City Atty., Little Rock, Ark., for defendants.

Phillip J. Duncan, Little Rock, Ark., for intervenors.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROY, District Judge.

On September 27, 1978, plaintiffs Johnnie Gilbert and Horace Walters filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC alleging racial discrimination by the Little Rock Police Department LRPD. On September 27, 1978, plaintiffs Johnnie Gilbert, Horace Walters, Andrew Lockhart, and Billy O'Donald filed the original complaint in this action against the City of Little Rock, the Civil Service Commission CSC, and Walter E. "Sonny" Simpson (in both his individual and official capacities). Relief was requested under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f), 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the Fourteenth Amendment. On October 17, 1978, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint which dropped the CSC as a defendant. On February 16, 1979, Julius Bryant, Jack Matlock, Maxie Alexander, Grady Anthony, Marcella Wilson, and Finis Lowe filed charges with the EEOC alleging racial discrimination by the LRPD. On February 22, 1979, Julius Bryant, Jack Matlock, Maxie Alexander, Grady Anthony, Marcella Wilson, Finis Lowe, Jessie Briscoe and Larry Bazzelle filed a motion to intervene and a complaint. Their action was based upon 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f), 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 42 U.S.C. § 1985, the Fourteenth Amendment, 31 U.S.C. § 1221, 31 U.S.C. § 1242, and 31 U.S.C. § 1244 of the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972. The action was also brought under 42 U.S.C. § 3789d of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. Injunctive relief and punitive and compensatory damages are sought by the plaintiffs and intervenors.

This case was tried to the Court for most of a 3-week period in January 1982. At the close of plaintiffs' case, a nonsuit was taken as to the individual case of intervenor Finis Lowe. At the conclusion of the trial the parties requested that the briefing schedule be delayed until the transcript was prepared. The last brief was filed on June 8, 1982, and the case is now ready for decision.

On February 4, 1982, a hearing was held on intervenor Sergeant Grady Anthony's request for a temporary injunction against the appointment of lieutenants from the eligibility list which was certified February 4, 1982. This Court denied the request for the reason that Sergeant Anthony had not shown the threat of irreparable injury or the other requirements necessary for the issuance of a preliminary injunction. Dataphase Systems, Inc. v. C. L. Systems, Inc., 640 F.2d 109 (8th Cir. 1981).

In the case at bar, the plaintiffs and intervenors have alleged that the promotion system for the City of Little Rock impacts on the black employees in a disproportionate fashion, and that each of the individual plaintiffs and intervenors has been treated in a discriminatory fashion as to job assignments, discipline, and other matters. Another contention is that the number of black hires each year has an impact on the number of blacks available for promotion to supervisory positions in later years, so this issue will also be considered.

Carlton McMullin (white) was City Manager from October 31, 1973, until approximately July 11, 1980. Mahlon Martin (black) has served as City Manager from July 21, 1980, to the present. Walter E. "Sonny" Simpson has served as Police Chief since July 9, 1977. Gale Weeks served as Police Chief from September 1, 1969, to April 20, 1977.

The members of the City Board of Directors at the time of the trial were Gale Weeks (white), John Langston (white), Webb Hubbell (white), Myra Jones (white), Sandy Keith (white), Lottie Shackleford (black) and Mayor Charles Bussey (black). The Board of Directors, who are elected at large by the qualified voters of Little Rock, appoint the City Manager. The method of electing directors was upheld in the case of Leadership Roundtable, et al. v. City of Little Rock, et al., 499 F.Supp. 579 (E.D. Ark.1980), aff'd per curiam, 661 F.2d 701 (8th Cir. 1981), against a challenge based on racial discrimination.

The Civil Service Commission CSC of the City of Little Rock, a body of five members, is responsible for certain matters relating to the Little Rock Police and Fire Departments. Arkansas law governs the jurisdiction and procedures of the CSC. Pursuant to statutory authority, the CSC has promulgated rules and regulations governing the administration and enforcement of its activities. The CSC is charged by state law with promulgating lists of candidates for promotions in civil service positions, and the certifying of candidates in numerical order from which the candidates are selected in exact rank order (Ark.Stat. Ann. § 19-1603). The CSC has promulgated guidelines for promotional procedures in the Police Department. The rules and regulations of the CSC contain the following statement:

"Discrimination based on race, religion, creed, sex or age is expressly forbidden. Any job candidate and/or employee may request and the Civil Service Commission will hear all appeals in violation of this section. Appeals on charges of discrimination shall be made to the Civil Service Commission, after administrative processes with management have been exhausted."

The CSC has jurisdiction over appeals from disciplinary actions in the Police Department.

The following people have served on the CSC during the time between January 1, 1975, and the present:

Roy Beard (white), April 1965 through April 1977;
Dr. Jerry Jewell (black), April 1969 through April 1975;
Peyton Rice (white), April 1969 through April 1975;
Fred Hook (white), November 1971 through September 1978;
Charles Crawford (black), April 1972 through April 1977;
Dale Booth (white), November 1973 through present;
Steve Baker (white), April 1975 through April 1981;
Perlesta Hollingsworth (black), April 1977 through July 1979;
Maryann Eastin (white), April 1977 through present;
Lynn Davis (white), September 1978 through present;
Darrell Brown (black), July 1979 through present;
Sam Tatum (white), April 1981 through present.

Ark.Stat.Ann. § 19-1603 requires the Civil Service Commissioners to prescribe and enforce regulations for Fire and Police Departments. Such rules and regulations have the force of law. This statute requires open, competitive examinations to be used to assess the qualifications of each applicant. An eligibility list must be maintained in order of standing on examination and automatically expires after one year. The department head must select the highest name on the list for promotion. Advertising of examinations is required. Ark. Stat.Ann. § 19-1307 requires that all examinations must be fair and impartial and must test the qualifications of applicants for the particular service and positions to be filled. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 19-1603 provides that no person shall be eligible for appointment to any position in the Police Department who has not arrived at the age of 21 years or who is over the age of 45 years. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 42-1005(e) (1979) empowered the executive commission on law enforcement standards to establish minimum selection and training standards for employment of all law enforcement officers. In accordance therewith, a Rules and Regulations Manual (Joint Exhibit 10) has been promulgated which provides in Section 1002 that an applicant for a position with a police department must not have been convicted by a state or by the federal government of a crime, the punishment for which could have been imprisonment in a federal penitentiary or a state prison.1 It also provides that an applicant for such a position must be a high school graduate or have passed the General Education Development GED test indicating high school graduation level. It provides that the governing body of any county, city or town may waive the high school graduate requirement or the GED test equivalency requirement at its discretion. The City of Little Rock has not waived this requirement. The educational and age requirements were supported by testimony in the record. Section 1002 of the regulations also sets forth other minimum selection requirements. Act 45 of 1981 transferred all powers and functions of the executive commission to the newly formed Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training.

Walter E. "Sonny" Simpson is Chief of Police in the LRPD. Serving under him at the time of trial were two assistant chiefs, Clarence Hunter (black) and Jesse Hale (white). The department is divided into 7 divisions which are as follows: Administration, Community Relations and Training, Detention, Investigation and Apprehension, Patrol and Auxiliary, Records and Support, and Organized Crime and Intelligence. Five captains report to the assistant chiefs and are directly responsible for the command of the divisions.

The job classifications of the uniformed personnel in the Police Department, beginning with the entry level category, are as follows: Police Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief and Chief. The Personnel Department has created job descriptions for each rank which list the duties and requirements for each job. Police officers with 5 years of active service are eligible to apply for promotion to sergeant. (This minimum service requirement was raised from 3 to 5 years by the CSC on February 26, 1981.) Sergeants with 1 year active service in that job classification are eligible to apply for lieutenant. Lieutenants with 1 year active service in that job classification are eligible to apply for promotion to captain. Permanent lieutenants (those...

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