By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
DENVER — The former Regional Transportation District police chief hired to modernize security on buses and trains has filed a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by agency leaders who knew of “racial animus” against him yet launched a retaliatory investigation after he complained to federal authorities.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court accuses RTD manager Deb Johnson of discrimination in handling pushback against former RTD Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald, a Black man she hired to overhaul and expand transit security, after he filed a complaint Aug. 1 to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The 18-page lawsuit says longstanding RTD employees and union officials were aligned against Fitzgerald and that Johnson, who had anticipated he would face pushback in making changes, pursued a biased investigation that became a basis for firing him on Sept. 20.
RTD unlawfully discriminated against Fitzgerald based on race by investigating Fitzgerald “for purported infractions for which White officers were not investigated” and firing Fitzgerald “for the alleged infractions for which White officers had not been historically disciplined,” the lawsuit says. Johnson “was aware” of “racial animus” against Fitzgerald by employees, including a deputy chief who had been passed over for a promotion to be the police chief, it says.
RTD officials declined to comment. Amalgamated Transit Union and police union officials did not respond to questions. Federal EEOC officials didn’t provide a copy of Fitzgerald’s complaint.
Fitzgerald was fired Sept. 20 for violating multiple agency policies, according to a termination letter obtained by The Denver Post under an open records legal request.
He was fired following the civilian firm’s investigation into allegations he had violated agency policy, including a policy against excessive speeding, the letter said. The letter referred to GPS data from Fitzgerald’s assigned RTD vehicle showing he drove at speeds at or above 100 miles per hour 23 times between Denver and Castle Rock between Nov. 21, 2023, and Feb. 7. The investigation found he violated a policy when he improperly tried to have firearms purchased by an RTD employee using her RTD credit card and broke state police accountability laws by not wearing a body camera when required and directing deputy chiefs and commanders not to wear body cameras, the letter said.
Johnson wrote in the letter that she fired him because “your conduct is contrary to RTD’s values” and was “unequivocally unacceptable” as the agency’s chief of police.
Fitzgerald in May and June had informed Johnson about “widespread racial animus” and harassment within the RTD’s police department, the lawsuit said. He was placed on leave in July amid internal discord that included allegations against him, it says. But the deputy chief — who had displayed Trump Make America Great Again signage and other materials in his office, prompting Fitzgerald to counsel him that “this was inappropriate supervisory behavior, as it could make employees uncomfortable” — was not placed on leave, it says.
During July and August, Johnson repeatedly assured Fitzgerald that allegations against him were baseless and advised him to wait until a storm over the allegations passed, the lawsuit says. But when Fitzgerald saw he was being treated differently than other employees and that alleged discriminatory conduct wasn’t being investigated, he filed the complaint to federal EEOC authorities on Aug. 1, leading to his alleged retaliatory termination, the lawsuit says. The deputy has been promoted to serve as one of two acting chiefs.
Fitzgerald had served as a police chief in four U.S. cities including 17 years with the Philadelphia Police Department. He has championed a “firm compassion” approach to policing.
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