Sandy Springs officer alleges racial discrimination in lawsuit
A black police officer at the Sandy Springs Police Department has filed a federal civil rights suit against the agency, claiming that he was denied promotions and key assignments and unfairly disciplined because of racial discrimination.
Officer Jamaal Mayberry, who started working for the department when the city launched it in July 2006, filed the suit Dec. 23 in the U.S. District Court of North Georgia.
Mayberry, 33, seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a permanent injunction preventing the agency “from any further discriminatory actions alleged within this complaint.”
Wendell Willard, attorney for Sandy Springs, said the lawsuit has been turned over to the city’s insurance company, which will handle the case.
“We’ve looked at it, but we’ve got no comment,” Willard said.
According to city officials, 23 of the 133 police officers at the Police Department are African-American.
“I do think there’s an issue of him being treated differently,” Mayberry’s attorney Curt Thompson said. “And the only ... reason for that is race.”
Thompson, who represents District 5 in the state Senate, declined to make his client available to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and numerous efforts to contact Mayberry through family and co-workers proved unsuccessful.
In the lawsuit, Mayberry alleged that he started having trouble in July 2006 when he overheard other officers using racial slurs.
Among the claims in his suit, Mayberry said he was discouraged from participating in a program that introduced bicycles into apartment complexes, even though he discussed the program with his supervisor; was disciplined for inadvertently going to a SWAT training class against the wishes of his supervisors; and failed to receive recognition for his assistance during the apprehension of a hostile suspect while another officer got a written commendation.
Mayberry’s suit said he previously received “satisfactory and sometimes commendable” evaluations but now fears that he is a target for retaliation. Further, Mayberry said he was recently removed from the agency’s specialized Crime Suppression Team.
Thompson said Mayberry still works at the department as a patrol officer.
A 1995 graduate of McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Mayberry spent five years in the Navy. Later, he worked a few security jobs, then moved on to police departments at Georgia State University, Lilburn, Duluth and Hall County.
A review of Mayberry’s personnel file at the Sandy Springs Police Department reveals an officer who was often praised for his initiative and work effort.
“Jamal [sic], you are becoming a one-man ‘crime stopper,’ ” former Police Chief Gene Wilson wrote on a commendation form in October 2006.
But in 2009, Mayberry was placed on a performance improvement plan after a low evaluation score.
In November 2010, Mayberry’s supervisors said he made significant improvement. They ultimately recommended Mayberry be taken off probation.
