Storey v. City of Sparta Police Department

667 F. Supp. 1164, 45 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1546, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8254
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Tennessee
DecidedMay 26, 1987
Docket2-85-0125
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 667 F. Supp. 1164 (Storey v. City of Sparta Police Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Storey v. City of Sparta Police Department, 667 F. Supp. 1164, 45 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1546, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8254 (M.D. Tenn. 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

MORTON, Senior District Judge.

This is an action brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, and the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution, alleging sexual and racial discrimination against the City of Sparta Police Department and a number of city officials for failing to hire the plaintiff. Additionally, the plaintiff claims retaliatory failure to hire in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a), because she had suggested she would file an EEOC complaint for sexual and racial discrimination if she were rejected. The defendants deny the allegations and assert that the plaintiff was not hired because there were no available vacancies on the Sparta Police Department at the time of the plaintiff’s application in August of 1984 and that when they finally hired male officers in April and September of 1986, the men hired were better qualified than the plaintiff. Since a moratorium on hiring police officers existed for approximately 18 months, the defendants contend that the plaintiff is unable to establish a prima facie case. The City of Sparta submits that after it received the plaintiff’s application, “the idea of hiring a person as a police officer at that time just died.” For the reasons set forth in the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, Fed.R.Civ.P. 52, judgment shall be entered in favor of the plaintiff against the City of Sparta and the named individual defendants who were Sparta city officials on or before March 11, 1986. They are liable for unlawful discriminatory and retaliatory acts in their official capacity as agents of the City of Sparta and therefore as “employers.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b). Injunctive relief is awarded against all named defendants.

I.

The court has jurisdiction of this case pursuant to the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., all jurisdictional prerequisites having been fulfilled.

On August 7, 1984, the plaintiff, a 36-year-old female, applied for a position as a police officer with the City of Sparta Police Department in Sparta, Tennessee. On August 15,1984, she was interviewed by then-Chief of Police Ernest Cotten, Jr., who told her that she was the most qualified applicant they had, 1 the only one with any college education, but that there might be an “attitude problem” with some of the city aldermen concerning hiring a female as a police officer. Chief Cotten told the plañí *1167 tiff he currently had two openings in the budget for police officers and that he might be able to employ her as early as the middle of October. On October 3, 1984, however, Chief Cotten told the plaintiff he could not hire her because she was a woman, and women were not considered as minorities for the purposes of affirmative action. 2 She contacted the city administrator, Hugh Carmichael II, and informed him that she wished to speak with the Sparta City Council.

Ms. Storey maintains that she is an American Indian. Because she felt she constituted two minorities (sex and race), she wished to inform the board of her race. Although Ms. Storey has the appearance of an American Indian, she did not otherwise verify her race nor does she seek relief on the basis of racial discrimination. Therefore, the alleged violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 will not be addressed.

The city administrator advised her not to attend the October 4, 1984, meeting of the Sparta Mayor and Board of Aldermen, and she heeded his advice. However, Ms. Storey attended the October 14, 1984, meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen and presented her qualifications. At the meeting, Chief Cotten recommended William Floyd Cartwright, a black male, for employment as a police officer. The recommendation was opposed by one or more of the aldermen, apparently because Mr. Cartwright had voluntarily quit his job with the Sparta Police Department in the past. Alderman Robert Agee suggested to the board that the City hire some minorities and employ them long enough to secure their federal grant money before dismissing them during their probationary period. A decision was made to advertise the vacant police officer position and hire someone at the November meeting. 3 Chief Cot-ten and City Administrator Carmichael were asked to select the three most qualified applicants and recommend them to the board at the next meeting. Chief Cotten did not recommend Janet Storey for the police officer position at that meeting or at any time thereafter.

The plaintiff filed an EEOC complaint alleging sexual and racial discrimination on October 23, 1984. The plaintiff was granted an interview with Chief Cotten and Administrator Carmichael 4 on October 31, 1984. During the interview, Ms. Storey was informed that a female police officer would be a first for Sparta and was questioned about how her husband might feel about her riding in a car with male officers.

Three applications were received in response to the advertisement, one of which was accepted on November 2, 1984. Five other applications were received between September 24, 1984, and October 17, 1984, presumably by word-of-mouth recruiting. Chief Cotten did not interview any of these applicants.

At the November 1,1984, meeting of the board, no mention was made of hiring for the police department. Although Chief Cotten attended the meeting, he was never asked to report on his search for qualified applicants, nor did he seek recognition for that purpose. Chief Cotten admitted that he could obtain the floor at board meetings anytime he desired. The idea of hiring a police officer to fill the vacancy or vacancies which existed 5 seems to have vanished into thin air.

*1168 Chief Cotten testified that he did not consider his department fully staffed at the time of Ms. Storey’s interview. Mr. Carmichael admitted that in October 1984 Chief Cotten needed more officers — that the Chief told him that “about every morning.” As of November 2, 1984, $85,643.37 remained in the county coffers as unappropriated funds. During the two-week pay period ending November 6, 1984 (when the plaintiff was rejected due, ostensibly, to no vacancy), a total of 46 hours of overtime was reported by Sparta police officers.

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Bluebook (online)
667 F. Supp. 1164, 45 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1546, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/storey-v-city-of-sparta-police-department-tnmd-1987.