HENDERSON, NV- A former Henderson police chief, who sued the city and a police union supervisor, saw her case dismissed by a federal judge, KLAS-8 News Now reported.
LeTesha Watson, who served as the city’s police chief from September 2017 until April 2019, when she was fired, filed a federal lawsuit in September 2020. She alleged, among other issues, racial discrimination and a hostile work environment, violation of her civil rights, defamation, and libel. The city hired an investigator to examine complaints made against Watson that began in June 2018.
The suit said, in part, “Upon taking her position as chief of police, Dr. Watson was quickly the subject of retaliation and discrimination from a ‘good old boy’ network that seemed surprised that she was a black woman.”
The city disagrees, saying it terminated Watson for creating “an atmosphere of distrust and division between the command team and the unions, which caused more problems and distracted from the department’s ability to focus on its job,” public records said.
Watson, however, alleged in her suit that the city didn’t have a policy in place to identify or address racism.
“Although the City acknowledged systemic racism exists, it has no tangible policy to specifically respond to it when it was encountered,” Watson’s lawsuit alleged. “This was clear because instead of having a clear path for investigation, City employees disagreed about how to address instances of racism or how to proceed according to policies.”
Last week, a federal judge closed the case against the city and Kevin Abernathy, one of its former police union supervisors.
Watson’s successor didn’t have much more luck than she did. Thedrick Andres announced his retirement after less than four years, after police unions took two votes of no confidence against him. Andres said he was retiring from police work, however, he eventually became the chief in Cibolo, Texas.
The next chief after Andres, Hollie Chadwick, was fired after less than two years as chief of police. Chadwick, a 21-year employee of the department, was placed on leave in February and informed that her employment was being terminated, KLAS-8 News Now reported.
City Manager Cynthia Garcia-Vause said Chadwick’s termination was not based on misconduct and was not considered a separation for cause.
“I did not come to this decision lightly–rather, it was clear to me that our vision and leadership styles were not aligned,” Garcia-Vause said.
“My focus is on the path forward. My goal is to grow the future leaders of this department from within. To accomplish this goal, I plan to move quickly to identify and appoint a new Chief, a seasoned law enforcement professional with a proven track record, to establish a foundation of stability, set the example, mentor, and create a formal leadership development program to build a strong pipeline of future leaders who are prepared to eventually be chiefs.”
