White Mississippi cop says police department transferred him to avoid promoting Black officer

The city of Tupelo in Mississippi is settling a lawsuit by a white former police lieutenant who claimed he was moved to block the promotion of a Black officer, according to the Associated Press.

Michael Russell's lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge Wednesday because it's in the process of being settled, making it the fourth settlement in six years involving the city's police department.

According to Russell's lawsuit, department leaders blocked his well renowned community outreach work to avoid promoting Officer Tiffany Gillylen.

"This is one of a series of cases where outstanding police officers have been severely mistreated," Russell's attorney Jim Waide said. "Things were not done in the officers' best interest and the best interest of the city."

"For many years Russell had been director of the city's Police Athletic League, one of the department's best-known community initiatives. The league used sports and recreation to connect with children in the community — particularly Black kids from lower income families," the Associated Press reports. "Russell testified that he did not want his transfer in 2018 to a vacant leadership position in the patrol division. His lawsuit contended that he was given the job to keep it away from Gillylen, then a patrol division sergeant. She had been given that position after filing a lawsuit and a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission."