Monterey Police Officer Shaumbe Wright and the city of Monterey settled Wright’s lawsuit in early December. But it’s not yet clear if Wright is still employed with Monterey PD, or how officials handled his claims of discrimination and retaliation.
Wright, a graduate of Monterey High and Washington State University, joined Monterey PD in December 1996 and, until sometime in the past two years, was the department’s only black officer. Between 2002 and 2013, Wright applied for a sergeant’s position seven times but was repeatedly passed up.
In Wright’s lawsuit, filed June 19, he alleges officers promoted ahead of him were less qualified. He alleges some of those promoted officers didn’t have college degrees. Some of his other claims are more serious: He alleges one officer had sexual relations with three subordinates, leading to sexual harassment complaints. Another allegedly lost a weapon while drunk and had sex with a parolee on the beach.
Attorneys for the city filed two motions Oct. 24. One moved to strike all the personal details about other officers from the complaint. The other claims Wright’s case fails to prove discrimination or retaliation. The city’s attorneys also claim Wright was the subject of eight internal affairs investigations between 2011 and 2012.
Monterey’s attorney, Morin Jacob, filed a notice of the settlement Dec. 1. A receipt of dismissal hearing is scheduled for April. 7.
Wright, his attorney Bradley Gage and Monterey City Attorney Christine Davi all declined to comment on the pending settlement.