Probe of Sheriff's department suspended

By JANETTE RODRIGUES

July 12, 2000 Web posted at: 10:01 AM EDT (1401 GMT)

In this story: Details of allegations Retaliation? RELATED STORIES

HOUSTON, Texas (The Houston Chronicle) -- The Harris County attorney's office has suspended an investigation into allegations of widespread discrimination made against the Sheriff's Department by a group of black employees.

A "fact-finding" investigation launched in January has been suspended pending the outcome of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint filed by the Afro-American Sheriff's Deputy League, Assistant Harris County Attorney Rosalinda Garcia said Tuesday. At least one group member has filed a separate complaint with the federal agency.

State Rep. Harold Dutton, one of two special investigators charged by the Harris County Commissioners Court to look into the allegations, recommended that the inquiry be suspended because he said the EEOC could use information the county gathers. The investigation was suspended last week.

But league officials said they filed the complaint against the department in late May only after they became frustrated with what they said was a slow pace set by Dutton and former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington, the other investigator.

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The probe never got off the ground, said sheriff's deputy Robert Amboree, the league's president.

The league, a type of independent union, has been at odds with the department for years over what the league sees as a history of racial intolerance, workplace harassment and discrimination of black employees, as well as few opportunities for advancement.

Capt. Don McWilliams, department spokesman, has denied those allegations.

In January, the group went public with several incidents, including one in 1999 that it described as a "fishing expedition." The incident, in which African-American male deputies were rounded up and photographed like criminal suspects after a female visitor's claim that a deputy had raped her at the 701 N. San Jacinto jail, prompted an investigation.

At least 16 deputies of different heights, complexions, weight, facial features and hairstyles were interviewed and photographed based on the women's vague description that she had been sexually assaulted by a black man in a deputy's uniform. More photographs were to be taken, but Sheriff Tommy Thomas halted that part of the investigation. He later said that the investigation could have been handled differently, but the department denied any wrongdoing.

The woman's allegation was unsubstantiated, and she was unable to identify her attacker from the photographs. The case was shelved for lack of evidence.

In 1999, a racist and sexist note was put in the locker used by a black, female deputy at the 701 N. San Jacinto jail. The deputy had complained to a supervisor that white deputies were not replacing their African-American counterparts in a timely manner to take their required breaks. The department investigated the incident, but the results were inconclusive. Jail staff working the day shift were required to take a sensitivity training class.

Also, the league contends that black employees are punished more harshly than white counterparts who commit the same offense.

Godfrey Eta, league vice president, accused Dutton and Washington of dragging their feet. He said the investigators, both attorneys, had not even formalized an agreement with the county concerning the investigation.

"They hadn't done a damn thing," Eta said. He said that before the league filed the complaint, the group asked members of the Commissioners Court to replace Dutton and Washington but was rebuffed.

Eta filed an individual complaint with the EEOC in April, saying the department retaliated against him because of comments he made in January about the allegations. Amboree also said he has experienced retaliation.

Eta and Amboree said that even today the retaliation continues.

Eta, a detective with the department, and Amboree said they were given work evaluations of unsatisfactory after league allegations were made public and EEOC complaints filed.

Amboree received a 15 out of a possible 30 on his most recent evaluation, and Eta a 12. Sheriff's Department employees are evaluated at least twice a year at the end of June and December.

"I've had an exemplary record with the department, inside and outside of the department," Eta said. "My December evaluation from the same supervisor was a 28 out of 30."

Both men said the evaluations were a surprise to them because they were unaware that their supervisors were unhappy with their work performance.

McWilliams said that evaluations are based on work performance and supervisors have to justify the rates they give employees. He said the department denies any retaliation occurred.

"Obviously, they are both unhappy and have been for a while," he said. "They aren't being harassed or picked on in any way."

Dutton would not answer whether he had begun to investigate the deputies' claims before the EEOC complaints were filed.

"It doesn't matter at this point," Dutton said of the special investigation. "It's irrelevant because Mr. Eta and the Afro-American Sheriff's Deputy League have chosen to air their grievances in another forum."

H. Joan Ehrlich, district director of the EEOC in Houston, said agency policy prevents her from revealing who has filed a complaint with the agency or whether an investigation has been launched. But she said all EEOC complaints are not investigated, only those that have merit. She said the agency also holds off investigating cases that are involved in pending lawsuits.

"A small number of complaints aren't investigated because they lack merit," Ehrlich said.

Even if the agency found that the complaint warranted a lawsuit, it would not be able to sue the county, she said. The EEOC can only sue county or state governments in cases of age or equal pay discrimination, she said. In this case, if a suit were warranted, it would be handed over to the U.S. Justice Department for consideration, Ehrlich added.

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