Called ‘Thug,’ ‘Sleepy,’ ‘Ni–er’ and Unfairly Denied Promotions, Two Black Seattle Police Officers Were Punished for Complaining, Lawsuit Says
Two Black Seattle police officers are suing the city of Seattle, alleging they were harassed and discriminated against for years in a hostile work environment the city fostered and perpetuated.
In two separate civil lawsuits filed on April 16 in King County Superior Court, Officers Michael Griffin and Corey Foy say they faced racial discrimination on a daily basis, including numerous incidents that embarrassed and humiliated them.
Griffin, who has been a Seattle police officer for more than 30 years, alleges in his complaint that he was “ridiculed for being African American,” accused of sleeping on the job and asked why he “always looks so sleepy” by a supervising lieutenant, while white officers who slept in a TV room nearby faced no such reprimands.
He says other officers made sport of comparing him to a photo of a Black suspect at the department’s South precinct, where they inserted Griffin’s photo in place of the suspect and later crossed out the suspect’s name and wrote in his.
The photo was left in place for weeks next to a sergeant’s desk, where officers would regularly walk past it. At some point, an officer wrote “Haha” on the photo, which Griffin did not find funny and was “deeply embarrassed” by in the ongoing harassment, the lawsuit says.
On another occasion, Griffin responded to a call in which he was called “Ni—er” several times by an older white man, interactions caught on video. Griffin alleges that he remained calm and completed his police duties during the incident, but was later written up by non-Black officers and “given remedial training on how to perform under this type of situation.”
He also claims a few officers asked him “if his people grew [tails] after midnight.”
The lawsuit says Griffin was given “different individualized expectations for performance” that were not given to non-Black officers, and repeatedly overlooked for career advancement opportunities, including overtime work, special training and promotions.
Griffin was denied opportunities to become a field training officer and a hostage negotiator, despite being qualified for the positions and having no pertinent performance issues in his evaluations, he claims, while non-Black officers with similar qualifications and training did move ahead.
Meanwhile, Foy also claims he encountered “degrading” and “hostile” conduct from white officers, as well as disparate disciplinary treatment over a period of years.
That included a day in 2021 when Foy came into the precinct before the start of roll call wearing workout clothes and walked by Officer A.J. Marks, who allegedly said, in front of a roomful of other officers, “Why are you coming in here looking like a damn thug?”
After this “demeaning” comment, the room went quiet, his complaint says, and Foy went to the locker room and changed into his uniform, asking Marks when he returned, “How do I look now?”
Marks reportedly replied, “You look like a damn thug,” his words embarrassing and humiliating Foy, who made a formal complaint that was investigated by the Seattle PD’s Office of Police Accountability.
In May of 2021, the OPA found that Marks had behaved unprofessionally but did not sustain the more serious charge of racial bias, arguing they could not prove Marks had racist intent when he called the Black officer a “thug,” DivestSPD reported. Marks was temporarily suspended for the misconduct.
Foy’s lawsuit also describes uncomfortable encounters with Sgt. Jennifer Samson, who is white, including an awkward moment when he met her mother at a police guild luncheon. Samson’s mother reportedly said, “Um, wow, I’ve never met a brother before,” producing gales of laughter by those present directed at Foy.
During a meeting with Samson regarding his transfer to another squad, Samson allegedly claimed during the meeting that Foy was angry because he wanted to date a Black female officer who was dating a white officer at the time, an unseemly accusation that “perplexed” Foy, he says.
Foy was told he was being transferred because of his veteran leadership status, but then learned the officer he switched positions with had more time and experience in the department than he did. He felt the move was made in retaliation, the complaint says.
Samson allegedly called Foy “a slug” and “badmouthed him to other officers about not doing his job,” the lawsuit says, even though Foy met all expectations on his job performance evaluations.
Though the lawsuit details a few instances when Foy did not wear his police vest to roll call or was five minutes late to a training session, it contends that he was treated differently than other non-Black officers, who were not reprimanded for such minor infractions, which happened regularly.
Incidents of blatant racism and microaggressions were also common, the complaint says.
One day, when walking through a locked security gate into work, Officer Cody Alidon looked at Foy and said, “You look sketchy coming into work with a hood[ie] on carting a plastic bag,” to which Foy responded, “Why? Is it because I’m Black?”
Alidon allegedly responded by laughing loudly, got into his patrol car and closed the door.
A poster on the outside of the locker room inside the South precinct allegedly read, “I love all my white friends,” the lawsuit says.
Foy, who is from Georgia, says he was “mocked and taunted” because of his Southern accent. He claims he witnessed another African-American officer being ridiculed as he put away his lotion in the locker room. An officer walked in, “gave an exaggerated sniff,” and said, “What kind of lotion is that? It’s gotta be cocoa butter.”
Like Griffin, Foy’s complaint says he was also denied overtime work while other officers with the same qualifications and training were given overtime, and contends some of the denials were in retaliation for reporting concerns about discrimination to the precinct captain.
On Sept. 17, 2024, Foy and Griffin each filed tort claims against the city of Seattle including allegations of racial discrimination, harassment and hostile workplace that were investigated by the city’s Equal Employment Office.
Superior officers told them instead of filing grievances and complaints, they “should just suck it up,” their lawsuits say.
Foy was “berated and cussed out on false allegations” in Lt. Matthew Hendry’s office, and “told he did not need an attorney or Guild [police union] representation,” he claims.
Both Griffin and Foy say the department and the city failed to eliminate discrimination, harassment and retaliation that created a hostile work environment in violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination. They also claim a “tort of outrage” against the city for negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress under state common law.
They seek a jury trial to determine compensatory, general, special and punitive damages, and a court order to force the department to implement measures that will protect them and and other employees from further discrimination and retaliation.
Their lawsuits are just the latest among a growing list of claims accusing the Seattle Police Department of some kind of discrimination, reported the Seattle Times.
The past two years have also seen lawsuits from four female officers, a police lieutenant, a veteran detective, an assistant chief, and a former candidate for chief — alleging misconduct and civil rights violations, including bullying, sexual harassment, gender and racial discrimination. Most of the lawsuits are awaiting resolution, but earlier this month, the city paid out nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a Black captain who alleged discrimination.
Attorneys for the city of Seattle did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Atlanta Black Star.
According to the King County Superior Court clerk, the city of Seattle has until September 2025 to file a defense pleading or a statement of arbitrability. Discovery in the case will be cut off in March 2026, when mediation will occur. If no settlement is reached, the trial is currently scheduled for April 20, 2026.