Medina Ex-Police Chief's Racial Bias Lawsuit Starts in Federal Court

Ousted Medina Police Chief Jeffrey Chen was discriminated against in various ways on the job, and he hasn't been able to find another job in law enforcement, his lawyer said Monday in her opening statement in Chen's bias lawsuit against Medina City Manager Donna Hanson and the city of Medina.

"The discrimination can be blunt, it can be direct or it can be subtle and it can be hidden," Chen's attorney Marianne Jones told the jury of four men and four women in U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly's courtroom.

Jones said she would present evidence to show that the bias came in numerous forms. The opening statement by Medina's representation, the law firm of Michael and Alexander, will be Tuesday at 9 a.m.

The suit claims that the city of Medina violated Chen's rights when Hanson fired him last April and says that she denied him due process when they fired him and discriminated against him because he is a racial minority. Chen is Chinese-American. Zilly had earlier limited the scope of the lawsuit, dismissing Chen's claim of a hostile work environment.

Jones also said that Chen's firing in Medina has made him unable to find another job in law enforcement despite his 23 years of professional experience and he seeks damages for the effect on his reputation. .

Also at issue was whether Chen's employment with the Seattle Police Department would become an issue at the civil trial. Chen left the Seattle Police Department in 2001 after Seattle began an investigation that began over travel expenses to a conference in Las Vegas, in which he billed the department $382. The matter was settled when Chen quit the Seattle PD before the investigation was completed.

In Medina, where Chen was hired in 2001 as captain and promoted to chief in 2004, he . Less than two weeks after, he rescinded his resignation. However, rather than reinstate Chen, Hanson put him on administrative leave and launched an investigation of him.

That culminated in her , including lying during two city investigations, abusing his position in voiding some tickets, making improper purchases and improperly accessing the city’s email archives.

Many residents disagreed with the action, and dozens of residents spoke up for Chen at City Council meetings in his support.

The bias suit cites instances in which Chen and other witnesses say that city officials and employees made derogatory statements about blacks and Asians, and made disparaging statements to Chen regarding his Chinese-American background.

Chen states that Hanson was less communicative with him than she was with non-minority employees and said she had failed to discipline employees for making derogatory racial statements to Chen and others.

Jones also told jurors when Hanson would be out of town, she appointed someone else as acting city manager, instead of the police chief, which previous city managers had done.

Previous coverage:

• Ousted Medina Police Chief Charges Racism in Lawsuit Against City (Jan. 13, 2012)
• Medina Residents Pressure Council Over Police Chief Firing (June 14, 2011)
• Medina City Council Takes Heat Over Police Chief's Firing (May 10, 2011)
• Medina Releases Documents On Chief Jeffrey Chen's Termination (April 29, 2011)
• Medina Names Lt. Dan Yourkoski Acting Police Chief (April 29, 2011)
• Medina Police Chief Jeffrey Chen Fired (April 28, 2011)
•  (Jan. 21, 2011)