ALHAMBRA : Black Officer’s Racial Bias Suit Settled for $79,000
Alhambra has agreed to pay an African-American police officer $79,000 to settle a 1991 racial discrimination lawsuit.
As part of the settlement, Officer Bradley Sheffield, 31, is to resign from the Police Department, where he had worked for seven years and had been on unpaid leave since last year.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. June 4, 1992 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday June 4, 1992 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 2 Column 4 Metro Desk 1 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction
Police Suit--A digest item Wednesday about a former Alhambra police officer whose discrimination suit was settled should have stated that the officer, Bradley Sheffield, will be retired with pay from the Police Department.
Sheffield’s suit accused Chief Russell Siverling and the department of fostering a hostile environment that included racial slurs and threats. According to the suit, Sheffield’s locker was spray-painted black and objects resembling watermelons were left for him by officers.
Alhambra officials deny any discrimination, said Harold A. Bridges, a city lawyer.
Sheffield’s complaints had triggered a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit, settled last year when the city agreed to set aside $180,000 for African-American and Asian-American Police and Fire department applicants who were not hired because of racial bias.
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