After a six-week trial, the former head of the Port of Seattle’s police department has been awarded $24.2 million in damages as part of a legal case under which he sued the port for unlawful firing, according to a July 22 Seattle Times report.
Ex-chief Rod Covey was removed from his post in September 2021, several months after being placed on administrative leave. An internal investigation found that he had violated the port’s code of conduct and human resources policies after a port police officer filed racial discrimination complaints against Covey and other superior officers.
Covey sued the port in late 2022, more than a year after his termination. In the suit, filed in King County Superior Court, he alleged that his termination “was the intended result of a campaign to remove him as chief because he, as an older white man, did not fit the profile the port wanted to portray to the public.”
Covey had been the department’s chief since November 2016; prior to that, he served over seven-and-a-half years as deputy chief, beginning in April 2009.
At the time of Covey’s suspension, port officials did not publicly specify the allegations that led to Covey being placed on leave.
“These are workplace responsibility complaints that are directly related to allegations regarding the treatment of employees under the port’s employment policies and Code of Conduct,” port spokesman Peter McGraw stated in a June 2020 email.
However, it was revealed in July 2020 that a Black port police officer was suing the port, alleging in a complaint filed in last year in King County Superior Court that his superiors, including Covey, were subjecting him to retaliation for engaging in protected activity including collective bargaining grievances, whistleblowing and reporting race discrimination.
Covey was placed on leave after the Black officer, Yandle Moss, filed an internal complaint accusing Covey of racial discrimination. Moss later filed a lawsuit, which was eventually settled by the port.
In late July, the port said it was reviewing the verdict and considering an appeal of the jury’s decision.
“The Port continues to stand by its decision to terminate former Police Department Chief Rod Covey based on violations of the Port’s Code of Conduct,” the port said in an email. “The Port will continue to enforce its code of conduct and will take appropriate action when someone is found to have violated these policies.”
