A former Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy was awarded $625,000 this week by a federal jury that found he faced retaliation after he reported misconduct by a white colleague and racial discrimination.
Former deputy Brandon Walker, who is Black, represented himself in the three-day trial — at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. It took the jury about eight hours to reach the verdict, according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
In his lawsuit, Walker alleged the Sheriff’s Office discriminated against him racially and took adverse employment actions against him after he reported misconduct by fellow deputies. Walker, who worked in the department’s Narcotics Unit between 2015 and 2017, said he witnessed fellow deputy Jay Rotter, who is white, use narcotics while on duty…