The Tacoma City Council on Tuesday voted to pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former chief of staff for the police department who claimed he was subjected to racial bias and discrimination before he resigned.
The lawsuit in Pierce County Superior Court included allegations of a hostile work environment, hiring practices that were discriminatory to Black applicants and uneven discipline between Black and non-Black employees.
Some of the claims described problems with the highest levels of department leadership, now-fired Deputy Chief Paul Junger and former Chief Avery Moore, who resigned in February with a hefty payout.
Curtis Hairston, who brought the lawsuit, is Black and reported directly to Moore when he was hired in April 2022. Neither Moore nor Junger were identified as defendants in the legal action, but it described Junger, who is white, making racist comments to Hairston and implied Moore, who is Black, didn’t do enough to step in. The city of Tacoma denied both those allegations.
The settlement gives Hairston “significant vindication” and allows him to move forward in his life, his attorney, Jeff Musto, said in a phone call with The News Tribune. Musto said it won’t solve all of the police department’s problems, but he said it was a step in the right direction.
“Tacoma Police Department has a history which continues to this day of allowing, if not encouraging, racial discrimination in the department,” Musto said.
The settlement has yet to be finalized, according to Musto. A settlement in a lawsuit often means the defendant does not have to admit to any wrongdoing. Musto said it was likely the settlement agreement in this case would include that, too.
A spokesperson for the city of Tacoma, Maria Lee, said the city does not comment on settlements. A spokesperson for the police department did not respond to a request for comment.
The City Council’s vote to authorize the settlement came and went quickly. After Deputy Mayor Kiara Daniels read the motion, there was an oral vote, and there appeared to be no dissent.
The responsibilities of chief of staff included managing administrative workers and driving long-term planning, according to a now-closed job posting for Hairston’s replacement. It’s unclear if the department ever hired someone. According to Hairston’s lawsuit, he was also brought on to address racial biases in the department.
“Curtis Hairston came to Tacoma, Washington in 2022 to try to help address racial biases and inequities within the Tacoma Police Department,” the lawsuit said. “Unfortunately, over the next year and a half, Mr. Hairston would be yet another in a long line of victims of insidious racism and discrimination within (TPD) and the City of Tacoma.”
The racist comments Junger allegedly made occurred when Hairston walked by the deputy chief’s office and was abruptly told to retrieve a woman from downstairs and bring her to Junger in a conference room.
Hairston told Junger he would this time, according to the lawsuit, but said, “The way you asked you might as well have said, ‘Boy go fetch me my guest.’ ”
Junger allegedly responded, “No. You will go do it because I am your boss and if I said, ‘Boy go wash my car,’ you will do that too.”
Later, Junger gave what Hairston described as an “insincere” apology. When Hairston indicated he wasn’t prepared to accept the apology, Junger allegedly said, “You people are full of (expletive) and rude as hell.”
Among other allegations, Hairston’s lawsuit claimed he was fired in October 2023 after he was investigated over an ethics complaint that claimed Hairston used his position to try to get his stepson hired at the police department.
The investigation was closed without discipline imposed, but Hairston claimed the police department still moved to fire him less than a month later. The city of Tacoma denied that allegation in a legal response to the lawsuit, instead contending that Moore was dissatisfied with Hairston’s performance and gave him the option to resign instead of being terminated, which Hairston agreed to.
Asked about recent changes to police department leadership, including whether it was moving in the right direction with its new chief, Patti Jackson, Hairston’s attorney declined to comment.
Regarding the case itself, Musto described how Hairston still felt the effects of his 18 months with the police department. He said a settlement doesn’t take that away.
“The scars of racial discrimination accumulate over time,” Musto said. “It’s not the type of thing, it’s not something where they just simply go away. And they certainly remain with Mr. Hairston, with Curtis and others like him every day.”