FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD)- Two former members of the Fort Worth Police Department command staff have won the right to continue with a whistleblower lawsuit that is rife with racial implications.
The 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas has refused to dismiss the suit brought by former Fort Worth Police Assistant Chief Abdul Pridgen and former Deputy Chief Vance Keyes.
Both men say they were demoted for recommending a white police officer be fired over an incident that happened Dec. 21, 2016. Both Pridgen and Keyes had recommended officer William Martin be fired for the way he handled a call.
Jacqueline Craig had called police after a neighbor put her son in a choke hold for throwing litter on his property. But when Martin arrived he began lecturing Craig over her parenting duties. An argument started. In a Facebook Live video, Martin then began arresting Craig, at times pointing a taser at Craig's daughter. The daughter was also arrested.
Although both Pridgen and Keyes recommended that Martin be fired, he was given a ten day suspension.
Pridgen and Keyes were "both demoted based on the Department's contention that they had disseminated confidential documents without Department authorization.
The demotions were based on the Department's allegation that Pridgen and Keyes gave Craig's lawyer a copy of a thumb drive with a video recording of Craig's arrest from Martin's body camera and information from Martin's confidential personnel file." according to an appellate opinion.
They filed the whistleblower suit. A judge in Fort Worth declined to dismiss the complaint on summary judgement after the city claimed its immunity had not been waived.
"This incident was about race and this case is about making Fort Worth face how they treat minorities and the relationship with police" said Jason Smith, attorney for Pridgen and Keyes.
The suit against the city can either go back to trial court or be appealed to the Supreme Court of Texas.
