City resident Adam Quinn has filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was discriminated against because of race while working as a police officer for the city of Bristol.
Quinn is of Hispanic descent, according to the lawsuit. Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould and that city are named as defendants in the case.
This includes, the suit claims, monitoring and disciplining him for shortcomings in his emergency response time, which is not done for white officers, and punishing him for use of force, which, despite more severe conduct by other officers, has not been implemented against anyone else during his career.
Quinn also alleges that two officers filed a false complaint against him, leading to his arrest and a 30-day suspension from the department, and that he regularly hears racist remarks in the workplace.
Quinn was charged with second-degree breach of peace in January 2016, The Associated Press reported.
Daniel Esposito, his attorney at the time, said the arrest stemmed from another officer’s grudge, and not from what police described as a “workplace threat.”
That case did not appear in state online judicial records as of Friday morning, nor did any conviction in the matter.
Formal complaints levied against his supervisors for mistreatment have gone ignored, Quinn alleged.
“The defendants have imposed, and (continue) to impose punishment upon and discipline upon the plaintiff in retaliation for his complaints, and because of his Hispanic race and/or heritage,” said attorney William S. Palmieri, representing Quinn in the case. “The defendants subjected the plaintiff to an ongoing pattern of discrimination, harassment, disparate treatment, hostile work environment and retaliation. The conduct is continuous, persistent and ongoing.”
For “severe financial harm and loss, severe emotional distress, loss of personal and professional reputation, humiliation, embarrassment, loss of privacy, upset, anxiety, inconvenience, physical harm, loss of property, and loss of employment opportunities,” Quinn is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, and other relief deemed just by the court, the suit says.
Gould’s office directed a request for comment to Bristol Corporation Counsel Wyland Dale Clift, who did not immediately respond to an inquiry Friday.
He told the Connecticut Law Tribune the city planned to refute the allegations in the case.
william.lambert@hearstmediact.com