The town of Scotland Neck was issued a summons following the filing of a civil complaint on behalf of a former police officer who is charging the municipality with race-based discrimination.
The complaint was filed in the United States Eastern District of North Carolina court by Charlotte-based attorney Chance D. Lynch on behalf of Marcus Morris, a Black officer, who was hired by the town’s police department in January of 2018 and worked there through this October. Morris is currently a Roanoke Rapids police officer.
In the request for a jury trial, Lynch noted that he is seeking judgment for compensatory damages in excess of $1,500,000 for his client.
“(Morris) was a good and faithful employee and served in his job with distinction,” the complaint filed in the court system’s electronic database Friday says, alleging that the officer was “subjected to discrimination based on his race and retaliation.”
Morris went through the administrative process by filing a charge of discrimination, the complaint says, however the town lacked the requisite number of employees to satisfy the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s criteria for such claims. The EEOC did issue a Right to Sue letter to Morris on August 22.
Lynch filed the complaint under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “to correct unlawful employment practices on the basis of race, retaliation after complaining about discrimination, racial discrimination prohibited by applicable North Carolina law, and to provide appropriate relief to plaintiff.”
The complaint says that the town subjected Morris “to an unlawful, discriminatory, and hostile work environment perpetuated by and through the town’s agents and employees. Plaintiff alleges that after he complained about discrimination, he was the subject of retaliation by agents of (the) defendant. Plaintiff further alleges that the discriminatory and hostile work environment created by agents of (the) defendant culminated in plaintiff's enduring emotional injuries and professional damages.”
Morris’s background
Morris worked as a town police officer and a trained canine law enforcement officer.
In addition to extensive years of law enforcement experience, he graduated from basic law enforcement training in May 2017 from Halifax Community College and earned an Applied Science Degree in Criminal Justice Technology from HCC on August 1, 2020.
He also earned the following:
Intermediate Law Enforcement Certificate from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards by the North Carolina Department of Justice on September 3, 2020.
Narcotics Certificate of Certification from the National Police Canine Association on July 2, 2021.
Permit to Perform Chemical Analyses of Breath from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on November 3, 2023.
Employment begins
He began with the town in January 2018 and was promoted to corporal in 2020.
After completing canine certification and receiving possession of a canine named Cash Morris was passed over at least twice for K9 school because of being ordered to cover the shifts for other officers to attend K9 school.
Sergeant’s position
In June 2021, Morris expressed an interest and applied for a vacant sergeant position within the department.
The complaint charges that former Chief John Tippett told him he would have to complete a sergeant’s exam and sit before a formal panel to be considered for the position. “Plaintiff took the sergeant’s exam but was never provided his test results. Additionally, the department held no formal panel to interview (the) plaintiff for the position.”
The complaint charges that once Morris expressed his interest in the vacancy, the former chief contacted a former white part-time officer and told him he wanted him to return to full-time status with the town and eventually assume the vacant sergeant position. (The former chief) told (the former officer) ‘that Marcus wouldn’t get the position and they needed to make it look like it didn’t have anything to do with race.’”
The former officer would have to complete a questionnaire. The former chief “assured (the former officer) that he would score higher than (the) plaintiff regardless of his answers. Most notably, (the former chief) stated, ‘you know how those (racial epithet deleted) can be sometimes.’”
Morris did not get the promotion, notwithstanding his training and credentials that exceeded the former officer’s. “In addition to being overlooked for the sergeant position that (the) plaintiff was qualified to receive, (the) plaintiff continued to be denied K9 training as other white officers were allowed to attend and receive.”
Crash and harassment
In June 2023, while serving in the scope of his employment, Morris was involved in a motor vehicle crash while chasing a suspect. “A month after said accident, Tippett wrote a disciplinary action against (the) plaintiff that was later determined unsubstantiated.”
Morris continued to endure ongoing harassment from the former chief and current Chief Tommy Parker, the complaint charges, receiving different treatment than other white officers because of his race. “These incidents include critically micromanaging the plaintiff for reports already completed, while not providing the same intense management to white officers.”
Closed session meeting
In August 2023, Morris, two sergeants and an officer attended a Scotland Neck town board closed session meeting to elaborate on official complaints against Tippett and Parker. “(The) plaintiff along with the other officers were promised that their complaints and
concerns would be confidential to prevent further retaliation ... However, (the former chief) approached (the) plaintiff and (officer) prior to the meeting and said, ‘Just because you’re having this meeting doesn’t mean anything will change.’”
In the meeting, the officers brought forth the following allegations:
Use of patrol car for personal use which violated department policy
Falsifying timesheets
Being unavailable for calls for service
Failing to provide supervision
Suspicion of drug activity and potential involvement with known drug dealers
Leaking information about drug search warrants to outside parties
Officers not being allowed to execute drug search warrants on specific known drug dealers that were supported by probable cause
Events involving the purchase of narcotics for the former captain’s ex-girlfriend
Double-dipping on timesheets to get illegal pay.
After providing this information to the town board, no investigation was conducted, according to the complaint and Morris was subject to more retaliation from the police department heads because of his reporting to the town. “(The) plaintiff was written up for unsubstantiated claims wherein (he) was able to give a sufficient defense to each disciplinary allegation.”
Cash was taken off the road for duty, due to the town commissioner’s decision to cancel the K9 program.
Two-week notice
In October 2023, Morris tendered a two-week’s notice to the town manager. Tippett and Parker were absent at the time he provided his two-week notice. He informed the town manager he would complete his last two weeks with the department as agreed upon when he was hired.
Tippett, who was on a leave of absence and who was making no administrative decisions at the time of the resignation, returned immediately to fire Morris. “After ending (the) plaintiff’s employment before the expiration of the two weeks as accepted … Tippett returned to administrative leave. As a result, (Morris) was not allowed to work the remaining two weeks as agreed upon when (he) was hired by the town and as accepted by (the) town manager.”
Nor, the complaint says, was the town manager aware that the former chief had returned from administrative leave to fire Morris.
The town failed to pay Morris for approximately 36 hours of work in addition to the last two weeks that was part of his employment agreement with the town.
Seeking employment with Roanoke Rapids
“After sharing his concerns with the town board and being mistreated by the police chief, the plaintiff sought employment with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department,” the complaint says. However, the town reported to North Carolina Training and Standards on Morris’s F-5B Form from the Scotland Neck Police Department that he had been under investigation and failed to return his issued duty equipment. “However, this was false,” the complaint says.
RRPD Captain Gorton Williams had a conversation with Parker regarding Morris’s employment history with the town. It was never said that Morris was under investigation.
“The town reported several false statements about the plaintiff to North Carolina Training and Standards that were all rebutted by the plaintiff and determined as unfounded by North Carolina Training and Standards. (The) plaintiff’s certification was subsequently released in December 2023.”
Charges to training and standards
The complaint says the town reported to the following North Carolina Training and Standards: Morris failed to return a rifle to the department. This was false. He provided a written rebuttal stating the details of the return of the rifle that proved the town’s report as false.
Morris failed to return and conduct a proper equipment inventory. He also provided a rebuttal with adequate details that proved this was false and that all items were accounted for.
Cash did not receive proper veterinarian treatment. “Again, (the) plaintiff provided a written rebuttal that proved the town’s statement to be false. In fact, the town manager approved ownership of Cash to be transferred from the town to the plaintiff.”
Morris was written up for a crash while he was chasing a criminal. “The plaintiff never received notice of a write-up, nor was (the) plaintiff informed of any disciplinary action against him regarding said event.”
During a conversation with the former chief, Morris provided North Carolina General Statute 20-145 that exempted him from any wrongdoing. “Still, the town made false reports about the plaintiff to North Carolina Training and Standards.”
The complaint charges that in addition to reporting false statements “to harm the plaintiff with North Carolina Training and Standards, (he) was never made aware of any disciplinary actions against him until receiving notice from Williams, and all write-ups reported to North Carolina Training and Standards lacked (his) signature acknowledging receipt of said disciplinary action.”
Says the complaint: “As a result of the false statements made to North Carolina Training and Standards, plaintiff was unable to begin work with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department. This impacted plaintiff’s ability to work and earn income.Upon information and belief, it was Tippett’s general practice to use discriminatory and derogatory comments when referring to African American employees, making statements that include but are not limited to, ‘We don’t want (racial epithet deleted) around here.’”
Summation
The complaint charges that the town’s “unlawful retaliation against plaintiff has directly and proximately caused him to suffer actual damages in the form of a loss of wages and employment benefits, stress, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, and loss of enjoyment of life.”
It charges that the town’s retaliation against Morris was intentional and in reckless disregard for his rights to be free from the same.
In addition to the judgement for compensatory damages and jury trial, the complaint seeks the following:
Judgment for exemplary or punitive damages;
Cost of suit
Reasonable attorneys fees
