2nd officer alleges Fort Collins police discrimination

A 35-year Fort Collins Police Services veteran has added his name and concerns to an ongoing lawsuit alleging years of racial discrimination and retaliatory practices inflicted and unabated by the department's top brass.

Sgt. Francis Gonzales joined a suit filed earlier this year on behalf of former Det. Kennyberg Araujo. Gonzales and Araujo say they "have suffered ongoing discrimination based on their race and national origin as well as retaliation throughout their employment with the Fort Collins Police Department," according to an amended complaint filed this week in Colorado District Court. 

The 46-page-document is more than twice as long as Araujo's initial complaint. It makes numerous allegations that FCPS superiors — particularly Sgt. Gary Shaklee and former Deputy Chief Donald Vagge — excessively singled out minority officers for disciplinary procedures and passed over Hispanic cops for promotions despite their qualifications and high test marks.

The suit also criticizes years of reported inaction on the part of Chief John Hutto to address race-driven issues allegedly plaguing the department.

"For decades, the FCPD has fostered and condoned a culture of discrimination against Latino/Hispanic officers, which is evidenced in its hiring and promotional practices as well as its disparate treatment of Latino/Hispanic officers in its disciplinary decisions and performance evaluations," the suit states. "Complaints of discrimination by these Latino/Hispanic officers have been met with retaliation in the form of demotions, transfers, denials of promotion and special assignment, and constructive discharge."

Citing the ongoing nature of the litigation, Fort Collins Police Services again on Thursday declined to comment on the allegations.

The new document chronicles challenges reportedly faced by Gonzales. This summer, Gonzales became more vocal about his concerns and was then passed over for a special assignment to become the school resource officer sergeant — a position he pursued for more than 10 years — despite his qualifications and years of glowing reviews.

The suit alleges the job went to a less-qualified and less-interested candidate.

Gonzales was once described in an annual review as "the gold standard" for task force sergeants. Yet he has not been promoted to the rank of lieutenant for 15 years — the only Hispanic officer ever promoted that high is Lt. John Pino, according to the suit.

"Deputy Chief Vagge has been the driving force blocking Sgt. Gonzales from advancing his career," the suit states.

Gonzales also served as a witness in support of two prior internal complaints filed in recent years. He failed to make the eligibility list for promotion for the first time in his career after aiding in one of those discrimination probes.

Gonzales is still employed as a sergeant with the department. His allegations are in addition to those made public recently involving Araujo.

Born and raised in Brazil, Araujo was hired by Fort Collins Police Services in January 2007 and was forced to resign in June 2015 because of the harassment, according to the suit. During that time, Shaklee was Araujo's direct supervisor and allegedly unfairly targeted him and persuaded co-workers to file false complaints about Araujo.

Shaklee reportedly over-criticized Araujo's ability to complete paperwork, retaliated against him when he voiced concerns and called him "lazy and incompetent," a phrase repeatedly uttered when speaking about Hispanic employees, according to the lawsuit.

The updated document includes assertions Shaklee referred to Hispanic officers as “tonks,” a disparaging slur that refers to people living in the U.S. illegally. It also highlights numerous issues that span years. Among them:  

• Vagge’s “hypercritical and inaccurate evaluation” of Lt. John Pino in 2012 resulted in him being the only commander of the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force to ever have been removed from the post. Fort Collins’ human resources department ruled there was insufficient evidence that Pino was treated unfairly because of his race.
• Despite being the subject of multiple internal discrimination and retaliation complaints, Shaklee has maintained the rank of sergeant and is currently up for promotion for an interim lieutenant position.
• Unfair hiring practices repeatedly kept Hispanic officers from being hired and completing the field training officer program compared to white applicants.
• Hispanic officers have been reprimanded for, among other things, leaving vehicles running, whereas white officers have not been written up for the same issues. 
• Araujo lodged a complaint against Shaklee, which Vagge “refused to address.” An appeal to Chief John Hutto was also denied after Hutto spoke solely with Vagge but did not discuss the matter with Araujo.

“Chief Hutto has been aware of the culture of discrimination suffered by his Latino/Hispanic officers for many years now, but he has failed time and again to take seriously the concerns of those whose lives and careers have been affected by this discriminatory work environment," the suit states.

Vagge retired May 1, 2015.

Though Fort Collins, which is about 83 percent white, is technically above the mark when it comes to African-American representation among officers, it does lag behind in the number of officers who identify as Hispanic, the Coloradoan reported last year. Census data indicate about 10 percent of Fort Collins is Hispanic, compared to 4.6 percent of city police in 2013. The agency said it was working on evening out those figures.

The plaintiffs are asking for the case to go to trial and are seeking damages including lost income and benefits, lost employment opportunities, mental anguish, distress, humiliation and pain and suffering.

A scheduling conference is set for Oct. 3.

Reporter Jason Pohl covers law enforcement for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.