A former lieutenant with the Austin Police Department, Johnny McMiller, who is Black, won a jury verdict this week, securing a $1.5 million payout in a racial discrimination lawsuit he filed against the city of Austin. The lawsuit, stemming from his termination in December 2015, concluded Tuesday with nearly a week's worth of evidence laid out in Travis County's 200th District Court, according to the Austin American Statesman.
The City of Austin expressed their surprise and discontent with the decision. "We were surprised and disappointed with the result," Meghan Riley, division chief of the city's Law Department, told the Austin American Statesman, "We continue to review the jury findings and will work with our client to determine the necessary post-verdict steps to take.” McMiller's lawsuit cited a June 2015 incident that led to his investigation by internal affairs, involving a fellow sergeant who left his post during an off-duty shift for Capital Metro, a matter which McMiller reported but later got him in trouble.
McMiller's legal complaint argued that not only the investigation into his conduct but also the decision to fire him were acts of discrimination and retaliation, especially as other officers not of color, facing more serious claims were not subjected to similar investigations when stripped of their off-duty work. The case took a turn in January 2016 when former chief Art Acevedo issued McMiller a dishonorable discharge, a decision that was later replaced with a written reprimand following McMiller's appeal, an action which denied him his sick leave payout, court records indicated.
Nevertheless, the legal battle continued in favor of McMiller with an arbitrator concluding that he left the department in good standing, thus entitling him to 1,700 hours of sick leave payout. The verdict was not unanimous, however, with 10 of the 12 jurors siding with McMiller. In his relief, the former lieutenant told the Austin American Statesman, “After nine years justice has finally been rendered and my name, and reputation cleared thanks to the 12 men and women who sat on the jury and judged the merits of my case impartially. I feel as if a burden has been lifted.” McMiller, through this long legal ordeal which has now culminated in the jury's decision, looks forward to a future unburdened by the past.
