Ex-Security Chief Files Bias Suit
A former Hawthorne High School security chief filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Thursday against the Centinela Valley Union High School District and two of its trustees, saying he is a victim of racial discrimination.
Jerome Brown, 34, who is black, claims that he was harassed and discriminated against by the predominantly Latino school district and Trustees Ruth Morales and Michael Escalante. In April, a preliminary investigation by the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing found that school officials had fostered a racially hostile environment against Brown and former Hawthorne High Principal Kenneth Crowe, who also is black.
Brown resigned from his post in January soon after he was suspended for six months on administrative charges that he disobeyed his superiors, threatened a district official and interfered with the arrest of a student.
Crowe, who resigned after he was demoted to a teaching position in July, 1990, filed a federal civil rights suit against the district on July 1.
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