Ex-officer’s bias suit thrown out

No evidence of retaliation, discrimination, judge finds

Former Little Rock police officer Ralph Breshears’ lawsuit against the city and its former police chief was thrown out of court Thursday by a federal judge who said Breshears didn’t show that he was discriminated or retaliated against when he was rejected for a position and prosecuted.

Breshears, 59, officially retired from the force Dec. 29, 2017, while he was off work, having been relieved of active duty during an investigation into his use of deadly force against a suspect in July 2017. He was charged in January 2018 with third-degree battery, a misdemeanor, in the shooting.

He fired three shots at a robber who was fleeing in a stolen car in the parking lot of the Chik-fil-A restaurant at 12500 W. Markham St. Two of the shots hit the man in his arm, wounding him. Prosecutors said Breshears wasn’t justified in shooting the man and that by opening fire, he put bystanders and the car-jacking victim in harm’s way.

Breshears already had one federal lawsuit pending over his unsuccessful effort to get what he considered a more prestigious job when he filed the second suit Oct. 19, 2018,

the same day a Pulaski County district judge cleared him of the charge. The ruling came six weeks after a non-jury trial. Both lawsuits named as defendants the city and former Police Chief Kenton Buckner, and were combined.

Breshears complained that the criminal charge was filed in revenge for him making discrimination complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky noted that several prosecutors had reviewed the case before deciding to file charges.

Rudofsky also noted that the charging decision was made long after the discrimination complaint was filed, and that there were several non-retaliatory motives given for charging Breshears.

The 27-year veteran officer had earlier alleged that in being passed over in 2016 for a job in the department’s hitand-run unit, which involved investigating hit-and-run accidents, he was discriminated against because of his race, which is white.

He said the position, which went to a less-qualified black officer, would have offered him a take-home vehicle, a better avenue for climbing the ranks and more opportunities for off-duty work.

In his 37-page ruling, Rudofsky rejected Breshears’ arguments about how he could have substantially benefited from the hit-and-run job. The city had argued that Breshears, a patrolman, didn’t suffer any adverse employment action by being rejected for the hit-andrun unit job because it was a “purely lateral move.”

Rudofsky noted that the only way a patrolman can be promoted to sergeant is by passing a standardized sergeant’s exam, which Breshears took only twice during his police career, failing each time. He ultimately rejected Breshears’ claim based on his conclusion that the hit-and-run job didn’t constitute a promotion.