Jurors say police sergeant should get almost $20 million in discrimination suit against St. Louis

Jurors say police sergeant should get almost $20 million in discrimination suit against St. Louis County police


CLAYTON — A jury agreed Friday with a St. Louis County police sergeant who alleged his department had discriminated against him because he is gay. The jury said the department should pay Sgt. Keith Wildhaber nearly $20 million.

Wildhaber’s case in the weeklong trial included testimony about him being passed over 23 times for promotion and his transfer to the Jennings precinct from the Affton precinct after filing an EEOC complaint, plus accounts by other employees in the department.

The jury deliberated about three hours before awarding Wildhaber $1.9 million in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages on the discrimination allegation. It added $999,000 in actual damages and $7 million in punitive damages for the retaliation allegations.

“We wanted to send a message,” the jury foreman told reporters. He was identified only as juror No. 4. “If you discriminate you are going to pay a big price. … You can’t defend the indefensible.”

Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/jurors-say-police-sergeant-should-get-almost-million-in-discrimination/article_e7305f25-64be-5391-8d4b-5c1f92f2be1b.html