A captain at a Delaware Police Department has opened a federal lawsuit claiming he was passed over for a promotion in 2017 because he was white.
Capt. David Spicer of the Dover Police Department says officials discriminated against him based on race, violating federal and state laws.
Capt. David Spicer (pictured) has filed a federal lawsuit claiming he was passed over for a promotion in 2017 because he is white
Police Chief Marvin Mailey, who retired earlier this year, is the black officer who received the chief of police position instead.
The lawsuit names an array of city officials as defendants, including Mayor Robin Christiansen, City Manager Donna Mitchell, three Dover council members and Mailey.
WBOC reports that Spicer filed the lawsuit after a discrimination case was dropped this summer by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The motion included the right to sue and Spicer filed his lawsuit on October 16.
In addition to requesting a jury trial, he is also asking for compensatory and punitive damages.
Christiansen nominated Mailey after a selection committee recommendation and says the decision process followed city code.
He said: ‘The process was as pristine as we could make it and council passed it unanimously.’
One of the lawsuit’s main arguments is that Spicer was more qualified than Mailey.
Former Police Chief Marvin Mailey (pictured) was given the position and retired this year
‘Plaintiff was more qualified than Marvin Mailey for the Chief of Police Position. Plaintiff was not selected as Chief of Police because of his race. Defendant Marvin Mailey was specifically selected for the Chief of Police because of his race,’ the lawsuit reads.
He alleges that he has more education, training and experience that the former chief of police.
Spicer is said to have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in administration of justice.
The lawsuit says Mailey does not have a undergraduate degree, but his LinkedIn page says he received a degree in criminal justice from Wilmington University from 2015 to 2019.
A former job listing, that requires chief of police candidates to have a bachelor’s degree, is also being cited as evidence.
However, city officials say that job listing that was published in a local newspaper was done incorrectly as was only a draft.
They say it was wrongly published before the chief selection panel was selected and met for the first time to determine candidate perimeters.
It was reportedly decided later that police chiefs did not need to have a bachelor’s degree to apply to the position and mirrored previous job requirements.
To be considered, candidates needed: ‘education and training equivalent to four years of college education in business, liberal arts, or any field other than engineering or the hard sciences.’
Jim Hosfelt, former chief of police, was hired under those regulations.
Former Dover Police Department chief Jim Hosfelt (pictured), was hired for the position without a bachelor’s degree, meeting previous and current job requirements
The city council is also targeted in the lawsuit, including former city council president Timothy Slavin.
Spicer says Slavin decided to back Mailey for chief of police before all applications were even submitted.
‘His hiring would have had the added benefits of healing community relations with our African American community, which has been strained for the last 20 years,’ Slavin said during a during the selection committee’s first meeting.
Another city council member allegedly endorsed Mailey publicly in the media and used his influence to position Mailey to win.
Pictured: The Dover Police Department in Dover, Delaware, where both Spicer and Mailey served
Another point of contention was the department’s alleged handling of the case after Spicer filed a complaint.
Although the complaint was dismissed, Spicer applied for Mailey’s former position before being denied that job as well.
The position went to Tim Stump in 2017 and the lawsuit says Spicer is more qualified than Stump for the role.
On the same day Spicer was denied Mailey’s former position, he was told he would be transferred from operations division commander to administrative division commander.
Spicer’s lawyer says this transfer greatly diminished his role in the police department and future promotions.
The lawsuit says: ‘As of results of his complaints and due to his race, Defendants purposefully denied Plaintiff promotional opportunities.’
On top of the previous points, Spicer is claiming that Mayor Robin Christiansen engaged in public defamation after Mailey was elected.
The lawsuit claimed Mayor Robin Christiansen (pictured) allegedly defamed Spicer during a 2019 press conference
The mayor allegedly,’maliciously made false statements regarding Plaintiff’s reputation to members of the public indicating Plaintiff was not qualified for the Chief of Police position.’
During an 2019 press conference, the lawsuit says Christiansen informally referred to Spicer’s case to a reporter.
‘If other people don’t know how to handle the fact that they were not qualified for the position or not considered for the position,’ Christiansen said, ‘that’s not our fault.’
Spicer has applied to fill the current chief of police vacancy.
The decision considering Mailey’s replacement will begin next week.
Spicer (right) is the latest law enforcement member to bring a lawsuit claiming they were racially discriminated in relation to Mailey after similar allegations surfaced in 2014
The lawsuit has divided residents and social media users.
‘You can have all the degrees and training in the world but if you can’t protect and serve our community to you’re highest ability then you don’t deserve the promotion,’ said one user said.
Another said: ‘I guess no one told some of you that can have all the training, education, and qualifications in order and still have a terrible work ethic and not get the job.’
Those in support of lawsuit agree that the department and city officials wrongly discriminated against Spicer for his race.
‘The city of Dover repeating the same mistakes,’ someone said.
The ‘mistake’ the user is referring to is a similar controversy that erupted when former Dover Mayor Carelton Carey named Mailey deputy police chief in 2014.
Five senior officers took legal action against the city because they claimed they were not chosen for the position because of race.
The case was eventually settled and the officers received $300,000.
Carey was pressured by city council members to resign after the implication that he improbably used his influence.
Carey denied the allegations, but left his position.