In a landmark decision rendered by a Suffolk County jury, the Massachusetts State Police is grappling with a substantial financial setback after being ordered to pay over $6.8 million in damages, for practicing systematic discrimination against female and minority troopers. The verdict, originating from a lawsuit filed in 2016, established that the state agency engaged in exclusionary employment tactics that effectively barred women and troopers from diverse backgrounds from ascending through its ranks, especially into specialized units.
The lawsuit, represented by a group of former and current troopers — among whom were individuals identifying as female, Black, and Hispanic — pinpointed to a pattern where the agency preferred male and white candidates for promotions, often bypassing more qualified applicants with diverse racial and gender profiles. According to Boston 25 News, one forceful example included Michael Proctor, a former state trooper embroiled in the Karen Read case. Proctor was dismissed after being found sending sexist and crude texts about her.
The Court’s decision shone light on several cases of passed-over promotions that should have been, by measures of qualification and merit, awarded to minority figures, such as the case of lead plaintiff Lisa Butner. Butner, a Black woman, convincingly argued in court the biased promotions she experienced, and as a result will receive $4.1 million of the judgment sum, as MassLive reported. “I’m saying this is what’s happening and this is the effect that this process is having,” Butner asserted in court…