According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Cincinatti based Kroger Co. recently announced that the company settled a federal race discrimination lawsuit involving black employees in six states, including Georgia, for $16 million.  See, “Kroger Settles Discrimination Suit for $16M,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, http://www.bizjournals.com , 6/19/08.  Kroger is the No. 1 grocer in metro Atlanta.  Id.  The Atlanta publication reported that the lawsuit was originally filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville in 2001 on behalf of 12 black employees, who claimed they were passed over for promotions and paid less than white workers.  Id. 

Whether employment related race discrimination in promotions or pay occurs in Dallas, Houston or elsewhere, victims of racial discrimination at grocery store businesses may contact the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) or an attorney to determine whether a formal complaint or charge of racial discrimination is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the particular potential case.

On June 24, 2008, the Department of Justice issued a press release announcing that it had filed a federal court complaint against the City of Dallas, alleging that Dallas subjected an African American employee and former general laborer for the City to racial discrimination and retaliatory termination after the laborer reported to senior management the use of racial slurs by his immediate supervisor and - that same day - the City of Dallas fired him.  See, PRNewswire-USNewswire, “Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against City Of Dallas Alleging Race Discrimination and Retaliation,” U.S. Department of Justice, http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS216201+24-Jun-2008+PRN20080624 , 6/24/08.

“Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment and protects individuals from retaliation when they exercise their rights under the law,” said the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  Id. ”The Department is committed to enforcing all federal civil rights laws, including Title VII, under its jurisdiction.”  Id.  

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ .

Further, victims of employment related racial discrimination in Dallas or elsewhere may contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or an attorney to determine whether a formal charge of race discrimination in, for example, Dallas is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case. 

According to an article in the Fort Bend Herald, former Houston Texans fullback Jameel Cook’s attorney wonders whether the athlete’s arrest last week on a marijuana charge is cooked up and whether Mr. Cook has been victimized by racial profiling.  See, Munsch, Don, “Attorney Says Sheriff Is Profiling,” Fort Bend Herald, http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2008/08/27/news/doc48b46c45cf493645815950.txt , 8/26/08.  Cook was pulled over by a Fort Bend County Sheriff’s deputy who saw that Cook’s Mercedes-Benz had no front license plate or registration sticker.  Id.  The deputy found the marijuana, but his attorney contends that the marijuana did not belong to Cook.  Id.  It is also alleged that Cook did not have a valid Texas driver’s license, did not have proof of liability insurance and had a suspended Florida driver’s license.  Id.   The Fort Bend County Sheriff reportedly said that the suggestion of racial profiling is “bull” and that his officer’s do not engage in racial profiling, but when asked about the yearly motorist stop and arrest statistics his office forwards to the commissioners court, the Sheriff said he does not pay much attention to that data because those statistics are “meaningless” and can be bent to fit someone’s interpretation.  Id. 

Racial profiling of motorists is improper and is not supposed to occur.  The allegation of racial profiling is meaningful.  Indeed, efforts have been undertaken to stop the occurrence of racial profiling by requiring law enforcement to keep, for example, traffic stop and arrest data so that the records can be reviewed and analyzed.  Ignoring the data can prevent law enforcement from using a tool to address racial profiling and better prepare and train law enforcement officers to avoid racial profiling as a basis for traffic stops.

Motorists in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere who believe their traffic stop or arrest was the result of racial profiling may make a written complaint to the responsible police department or sheriff’s office in order to document the event and provide the officer’s employer an opportunity to investigate whether the stop occurred as a result of racial profiling.  To learn more about what one can do if one believes he or she has been stopped because of racial profiling, an attorney may be contacted or one can visit, for example, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) website.  

Whether race discrimination, including racially degrading comments, epithets or abusive language, occurs at workplaces in Baytown, Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere, employment related racial discrimination is prohibited by law and victims of race discrimination may contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or an attorney to determine whether a formal charge of discrimination and a race discrimination lawsuit may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential employment discrimination case. 

In this regard, the United States Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice have filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Fort Pierce alleging retaliation against a black code enforcement officer who complained that her superiors racially discriminated against her and three other black code enforcement officers.  See, Gardner, Keona, “Federal Lawsuit Alleges Racial Discrimination In Fort Pierce Filing,”  http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/aug/26/no-headline—26fsuit/ , 8/26/08.  The employee, who has been with the city for about 25 years, allegedly complained that the former director of building and code enforcement suggested that she “came from a monkey.”  Id.  A Justice Department news release alleges that the city ordered the plaintiff to work inside a “specially constructed, isolated cubicle” that was unlike any of her co-workers, and white co-workers openly joked about her “banishment to a cell.”  Id.  The federal lawsuit alleges that the city transferred her from “outside duty” of inspecting structures to “inside duty” such as handling data entry for other officers and that the new data entry position normally pays a lower salary than a code enforcement officer.  Id.

In May 2007, the city’s EEOC reportedly asked the city to participate in settlement discussions after finding there was “reasonable cause to believe” a violation of civil rights occurred as to the plaintiff and three other black workers.  Id.  The three other black workers have filed a separate, private lawsuit against the city.  Id.

An Orange, Texas newspaper has reported that a beauty supply chain based in Denton, Texas agreed recently to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed in Beaumont by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the business, Sally Beauty Supply, after an African American job seeker was allegedly denied a sales clerk position at the company’s location in West Orange.  See, “Sally Beauty To Pay Local Woman $30k For Discrimination,” http://www.orangeleader.com/homepage/local_story_176192538.html , 6/24/08.  As reported by the newspaper, the federal race discrimination lawsuit filed in Beaumont claimed that Sally Beauty Supply offered the plaintiff a job as a sales clerk with the company and even gave her a start date but rescinded the offer two days later.  Id.  In sworn testimony, a store manager said she was told by the district manager that “she did not want another black person working in the store,” according to the news article.  Id.  In addition, the plaintiff was reportedly “told on the day she arrived for work she could not be hired due to her race because too many African Americans were employed at the store.”  Id.  Sally Beauty Supply is to pay the plaintiff $30,000.00 to settle the race discrimination lawsuit.  Id.  As reported by The Orange Leader, the company’s website says “Sally Beauty is the world’s largest retailer of professional beauty supplies.”  Id.

Whether race discrimination in the workplace occurs in Beaumont, Houston, Orange or elsewhere, victims of employment discrimination may contact the EEOC to make a charge of racial discrimination and consult an attorney to determine whether a racial discrimination lawsuit may be appropriate in Beaumont, Houston, Orange or elsewhere under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

Use of racially provocative and inappropriate language should not be acceptible in Galveston or elsewhere, and, as a recent article in The Galveston County Daily News says, “[t]here is never an appropriate time to use the N-word.”  See, Hollowell, Johnny, “No, The N-Word Is Not OK, Whoever Says It,” The Galveston County Daily News, http://www.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=e227fdb1d4b081fa , 8/20/08.  Going further, the article states that some people in the African American community have adopted use of the word in their general vocabulary.  Id.  As stated in the article, it is not appropriate for one culture as opposed to another to use the word.  Id.  In short, the article urges all people to not use the N-word.  Id.

When racially insenstive language is used in the workplace it can evidence racial discrimination and racial employment discrimination is prohibited by federal law.  Victims of racial discrimination in the workplace may contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about filing a charge of race related discrimination and victims may also contact an attorney to determine whether a racial discrimination lawsuit in Galveston or elsewhere may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

According to a federal lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Oregon, two employees of Video Only, Inc., a home entertainment and audio equipment company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, faced repeated slurs and jokes about their race, national origin, and religion, including use of the “N-word,” by management, telling of racially offensive jokes, use of the epithet “beaner,” and a hog-tied doll with its face painted black.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-4-08.html , “Electronics Retailer ‘Video Only’ To Pay $630,000 For Harassment And Retaliation,” EEOC Press Release, 8/4/08.  In the lawsuit, the EEOC alleged that both employees were retaliated against after they reported the harassment.  Id.  In this regard, the EEOC asserted that the company confronted co-workers who supported the plaintiffs and hired a private investigator to gather information to discredit the harassment claims.  Id.  The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and, according to the EEOC, the company settled the lawsuit this month, agreeing to pay $630,000 as well as implementing preventative measures.  Id.

On May 5, 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced, in a press release, that the EEOC settled a racial harassment lawsuit involving hangman’s nooses, KKK graffiti and racial slurs at a construction site in Pennsylvania.  See,  EEOC Press Release,  http://www.eeoc,gov/press/5-5-08.html , 5/5/08.  The EEOC said that the racial harassment included a life size noose made of heavy rope hung from a beam, the regular use of the “N-word,” racially offensive comments made to black individuals, including “I think everyone should own one,” as well as racist graffiti such as “coon,” and “I love the Ku Klux Klan.”  Id.  The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Director, who oversaw the investigation that preceded the lawsuit, said “It should be obvious to construction companies that employees in this industry have the same legal protections against discrimination as those who work in an office setting.”  Id.  A trial attorney responsible for handling the lawsuit for the EEOC added as follows: “The class members had the courage to come forward and complain, first to supervisors, who did not take action, and then to the EEOC, which did.”  Id.

Whether construction company race discrimination occurs in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere, victims of construction site racial harassment and race discrimination are protected by federal law and can report race discrimination in the construction industry to the EEOC and consult an attorney to investigate whether a race discrimination lawsuit in Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere may ultimately be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential construction site race discrimination case.

The Houston Police Department has found no wrongdoing in some 1,700 incidents in which its police officers intentionally fired a Taser, and during the last four years only five officers have been disciplined for misusing their Tasers, although not one of those incidents involved the actual shocking of a suspect, according to the Houston Chronicle.  See, Khanna, Roma, “Few In HPD Disciplined Over Tasers: Out of 69 Investigations Only 5 Allegations Sustained,” Houston Chronicle, 8/17/08, p. A1.  As reported by the Houston Chronicle, HPD reprimanded officers for threatening people with their stun guns, repeatedly discharging them while off duty and brandishing the weapon in a dispute in an elementary school carpool line.  Id.  In one complaint an officer shocked his own stepson.  Id.  In another incident, an officer shocked a 59-year-old woman in a dispute over laundry.  Id.  The article states that the use of Tasers, sold as an alternative to the deadly force of firearms, has been controversial in Houston since HPD first purchased hundreds of Tasers in 2004 after which time the weapons quickly triggered public criticism with findings that officers often used them on unarmed people who committed no crime and that the vast majority were black.  Id.

With respect to the incident involving a Houston police officer shocking his own stepson, the boy’s grandmother was quoted by the Houston Chronicle as follows: “If that is how they deal with family problems, how are they dealing with the public?”  Id.  In addition, “I can’t believe that this is how they want officers to use their Taser … At home, on their kids?”  Id.

In an unrelated domestic related incident, the Tampa Tribune reported on July 8, 2008 that a sheriff’s deputy used a Taser on his wife and held a service revolver to her head before being arrested and held for mental evaluation.  See, Poltilove, Josh, “Deputy Accused Of Taser Attack On Wife,” Tampa (Fl) Tribune, http://www.freerepublic.com , 7/8/08.

Reporting further findings, the Houston Chronicle “found that the majority of Taser incidents escalated from common police calls including traffic stops, nuisance calls and reports of suspicious people.”  Id.

Gratuitous violence, unnecessary deployments and misuse of electroshock weapons is a concern since the weapons are not toys and may cause serious personal injury or wrongful death.

Tasers emit charges causing electromuscular disruption, incapacitating a person temporarily.  See, George, Cindy, ” Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  However, Amnesty International contends that more than 300 people subdued by police Tasers in the United States have died since 2001, and, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, a recent interim report from the Justice Department said many safety aspects of the stun guns remain unknown and that “secondary or indirect effects” may result in death.  Id.  In this regard, the Justice Department recommended that police officers avoid mulitple shocks.  Id.  Others are not as unclear about the health effects of Tasers, including two heart specialists with the University of British Columbia who told an inquiry into the use of Tasers in May, 2008 that a jolt from the weapons can “almost certainly” cause heart problems and possibly even sudden cardiac arrest.  See, The Canadian Press, “Tasers Can Cause Cardiac Arrest: Heart Specialists,” May 21, 2008, http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080521/taser_doctor_080521/20

According to Dr. Mehdi Razavi, a Texas Heart Institute Electrophysiologist, a Taser shock stimulates muscle fibers, creating “a near state of paralysis” and potentially creating cardiac rhythm disturbances that might be lethal in people with blocked arteries or stressed hearts.  See, George, Cindy, ” Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  Moreover, HealthDay News recently posted an article at ModernMedicine.com in which it referenced a paper in the August Journal of Emergency Nursing urging emergency room preparedness to handle taser injuries in light of law enforcement officers’ growing use of Tasers and accumulating amounts of deaths from the electroshock devices.  See, “Taser Injuries Require Preparation In ERs,” HealthDay News, http://www.modernmedicine.com , 7/28/08.

Recently, two Houston area residents filed a federal lawsuit accusing Harris County, the Harris County Sheriff and nine Harris County Deputies of contributing to the wrongful death of a Houston man by shocking him with a stun gun and allegedly taking their time getting him to a hospital.  See, George, cindy, “Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  Further, on August 13, 2008, the Chicago Tribune posted an article stating that a Louisiana grand jury indicted a white police officer on charges of manslaughter and official malfeasance for repeatedly Taser shocking a handcuffed black suspect, resulting in the man’s death due to cardiac arrest.  See, Witt, Howard, “Former Cop Indicted In Taser Death In Louisiana,”  http://www.chicagotribune.com , 8/13/08. On June 7, 2008, Bloomberg.com reported that Taser International, Inc., the nation’s largest stun gun manufacturer, lost a $6.2 million jury verdict over the death of a California man who died after police shot him multiple times with the weapon.  See, Fisk, Margaret, “Taser Loses 1st Product-Liability Suit: Jury Awards $6 Million,” http://www.bloomberg.com , 6/7/08.  A day before the Bloomberg.com article, a posting at HighBoldtage.com reported that Birmingham, Alabama police were investigating the in custody death of a Birmingham man who dies after being shot with a Taser.  See, “Birmingham Man Dies In Police Custody,” http://www.highboldtage.com , 6/6/08.

Tha lawsuit against Harris County joins other active civil cases against Houston area law enforcement agencies by people stunned with Tasers, “including Houston Texans lineman Fred Weary.”  See, George, Cindy, “Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  In the racially explosive case of the Louisiana Taser related death, attorneys filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court, accusing city officials of civil rights violations.  See, Witt, Howard, “Former Cop Indicted In Taser Death In Louisiana,” http://www.chicagotribune.com , 8/13/08. 

Victims of Taser misuse, police brutality and excessive force by police in Houston or elsewhere may make complaints to the internal affairs division of the responsible employer in order to document a complaint and trigger an investigation.  In addition, vctims of police misconduct, including stun gun misuse, may consult an attorney to determine whether a civil rights, personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

On August 13, 2008, the Chicago Tribune posted an article stating that a Louisiana grand jury indicted a white police officer on charges of manslaughter and official malfeasance for repeatedly taser shocking a handcuffed black suspect, resulting in the man’s death due to cardiac arrest.  Witt, Howard, “Former Cop Indicted In Taser Death In Louisiana,” Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-taser_for_webaug14,0,1893768.story , 8/13/08.  While the police officer’s attorney reportedly said that his client was following police procedure during the arrest, the District Attorney was quoted as saying that “[i]t is our intention to show at trial that [the officer] caused the death of Baron Pikes by Tasing him multiple times, unnecessarily and in violation of Louisiana law, and by failing to get him medical attention when it was apparent he needed it.”  Id.  The article described this as a racially explosive case, reporting that witnesses said Baron Pikes pleaded with the police officer to stop tasering him, but within 39 minutes after he was first subdued, Baron Pikes was dead.  Id.

As reported in the article, Dr. Randolph Williams, a coroner, and Dr. Michael Baden, a nationally prominent forensic pathologist who reviewed the case, said that the incident “could be considered to be torture.”  Id.  While city police claimed that Baron Pikes told them during his arrest that he was high on PCP, as well as crack cocaine, and suffered from asthma, Dr. Williams found no evidence of the drugs or any sign of asthma and ruled the death a homicide, noting that Baron Pikes was unconscious when the last two Taser shocks were admininstered - after Baron Pikes had been loaded into a squad car and delivered to the police station.  Id.

Prior to the indictment, attorneys for the mother of Pikes’ 4-year-old son filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the police officer, city officials and Taser International, Inc., accusing the city officials of civil rights violations in the death of Baron Pikes.  Id.

Whether police brutality and excessive force by the police occurs in Louisiana, Houston, Dallas or elsewhere, police mistreatment victims have civil rights and can consult an attorney to see how to protect and assert their rights.