Latino officers have filed a class-action employment discrimination complaint against the Denver Police Department. The Denver Police Latino Organization and the National Latino Peace Officers Association say there are problems with recruitment, hiring, promotions and discipline and a hostile work environment within the department, reports the Denver Post.
The complaint was filed Feb. 23 with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Denver. The Denver Police Latino Organization has been negotiating with the administration for four years about what the group says are discriminatory employment practices. There are 1,493 officers in the Denver Police Department. About 20 percent are Latino – 36 women and 266 men. Denver’s population is 35 percent Latino, according to 2004 census figures.