The dedicated PC who was denied promotion just because he is black
A POLICE officer was marked down to stop him being promoted purely because he is black, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Zimbabwe-born Ronnie Lungu was the only black officer to apply to become a sergeant with Wiltshire Police. the other 19 candidates were white.
But his internal assessments were downgraded to make him appear unworthy of promotion. And derogatory comments violating his dignity were made about him based on his skin colour, while a senior member of staff was invited to make negative comments about him during an appraisal, the tribunal heard.
When Mr Lungu raised the discrimination with senior officers his complaints were brushed off as trivial.
After winning his race discrimination case Mr Lungu, who is still a constable with the force, said: ‘When I realised I was being singled out and treated badly because of the colour of my skin I felt so angry and upset.
‘I had worked all my career to serve the community and be the best police officer I could but I was being penalised because I was black.
‘It was totally unacceptable. But what made matters worse was that when I did raise the issue internally it wasn’t taken seriously. I joined the force to uphold the law and I still would like to remain with the force. I need reassurance from Wiltshire Police that they will take issues of discrimination seriously in future and I want to see new procedures put in place to tackle discrimination and better education among senior members of staff in how to deal with complaints.’
the Bristol tribunal heard that Mr Lungu, 40, a father of three, joined the force in 2003 after moving to england. ten years later he was temporarily promoted to sergeant.
He passed his sergeant’s exam and applied for the role permanently with the other 19 candidates.
But he was turned down and sued the force for discrimination on the grounds of his ethnicity. the force – which has only 16 ethnic minority officers out of a total of just over 1,000 – denied the claim. But the tribunal ruled that Mr Lungu was singled out ‘as a marked man’ for no other factor than his race.
Its judgment read: ‘the reduction in scoring has the very significant effect in terms of making it appear reasonable that the one black applicant for promotion was scoring lower than the 19 white applicants and should therefore not be promoted.
‘this behaviour is so extreme that the tribunal cannot think of any apparent motive other than one that is directly related to the claimant’s race.’
Another hearing will decide what redress is due to Mr Lungu.
Wiltshire Chief Constable Patrick Geenty said the force would learn lessons from the ‘complex’ case and is committed to increasing its diversity. the force was assessing whether to appeal any aspects of the judgment. He added: ‘ We will continue to engage with the officer and his representatives to ensure that he can continue to be a valued member of Wiltshire Police. All necessary training and support will continue to be provided to him.’
‘Totally unacceptable’