By Zuri Anderson
The California police officer who was fired over anti-Black text messages is taking legal action following his termination.
The Sacramento Bee reported that James Dorris, a former officer under the Folsom Police Department, has filed a lawsuit against the city for racial harassment and discrimination he suffered during his nearly 20-year career on the force. Reporters said Dorris is Asian-American.
“As a result of the unlawful conduct of defendants, (Dorris) has suffered severe emotional distress, wage loss and loss of benefits, diminution of his lifetime pension benefits, damage to his career,” the lawsuit, which was filed in September, states.
Dorris was accused of making racist text messages disparaging Black people, receiving oral sex from a woman several times while on duty, and lying to internal investigators, according to a letter sent to Dorris by Folsom City Manager Elaine Andersen.
The day before Martin Luther King Dr. Day in 2020, Dorris texted someone, “That’s why I’m going to arrest as many blacks as I can tomorrow to celebrate,” the letter alleges. The then-police officer texted, “At the jail arrested a black guy,” on the federal holiday. Dorris reportedly defended his statements as “crude humor” and an “inside joke” to investigators.
An independent arbitrator found the city “correctly concluded” Dorris should be fired for sending the racially-charged texts and lying during the internal investigation, reporters said. Dorris, who has been on the force since 2005, was fired in 2022.
The ex-police officer has accused several of his colleagues of racist behavior dating back to 2007. According to the lawsuit, fellow officers would put “anti-Asian and racially offensive” on his locker and make offensive remarks about his slanted eyes. The filing detailed an alleged incident where a sergeant would mimic an Asian accent and would ask Dorris “in a mocking manner” to pronounce arrestees’ Asian names.
“There would be times where (Dorris) would pull over in a parking lot and get emotional,” the lawsuit reads.
David Foyil, the attorney representing Dorris, said he got reports from two former police officers alleging the police department failed to reprimand cops over racist comments.
Christine Brainerd, a spokeswoman for the city of Folsom, said the accusations by all three former employees were “inconsistent” with the standards of Folsom Police Department.
“The city of Folsom does not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment and takes these allegations seriously,” Brainerd wrote in a statement obtained by reporters.
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