DCentric

Flickr: Jonathon D. Colman

Yesterday, over 50 African American employees began the process of filing a discrimination complaint against the Capitol Police, a federal police force tasked with protecting the United States Congress:

In a press conference, members of the U.S. Capitol Black Police Association announced they intended to file a classwide request for counseling with the Office of Compliance, which will “initiate a process that will in all likelihood lead to yet another discrimination complaint” filed against Capitol Police, according to association member and Capitol Police Lt. Frank Adams.

Cited as reasons for the action are reprisals, hostile work environment and discrimination committed against black employees by the Capitol Police, the Capitol Police Board and the senior employment counsel for both, Frederick Herrera.

“The United States Capitol Police Department continues to project a model culture of discrimination as reflected in a ‘modern day version of a 19th Century Southern Plantation in law enforcement,’” Adams said.

The U.S. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A decade ago, over 300 Capitol Police employees filed a class-action discrimination lawsuit which has yet to be resolved.