A jury found Thursday that former Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker retaliated against two former officers by firing them after they reported alleged homophobic and racist comments made by another officer.
Baker, who served as sheriff from 2018 to 2022, was sued in federal court in 2021 by former officers Steven Williamson and Alvis Speight.
They accused Baker of firing them after they reported a lieutenant’s “homophobic and racially discriminatory” comments about gays and Muslims during a training session in May 2017, the lawsuit said. The officers informed several higher-ups about the comments, including Donnie Harrison, who was sheriff at the time.
According to court documents, Williamson and Speight alleged that Lt. Teddy Patrick “told the officers present that he ‘did not believe in homosexuality,’ that he did not like ‘gays,’ and that he made derogatory statements about homosexuals.” He then allegedly verbally abused a gay officer who was present.
Patrick is also alleged to have said that he felt uncomfortable around Muslims on airplanes and, according to the complaint, said, “If white people keep killing themselves, we black people will be the majority instead of the minority.”
The indictment described Baker and Patrick as “close friends and confidants” who traveled together and were in the same Masonic lodge. After Baker won the 2018 election, Williamson and Stephen were fired, while Patrick was promoted to major and became Baker’s second-in-command.
The trial in the case began Monday, with the jury ultimately recommending that Speight and Williamson each receive $500,000 in damages. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Richard E. Myers II will have the final say on those amounts. It is not yet clear when Myers will make that ruling.
As of Thursday evening, it was unclear whether the county or Baker would pay the damages ultimately awarded to the former officers.
2022 lawsuit settled
Two years ago, Baker settled out of court another lawsuit with Richard Johnson, a former deputy chief operating officer who had sued his former employer for more than $1 million in 2020, also alleging wrongful termination, The N&O previously reported.
Johnson was fired from the Sheriff’s Office in 2018, shortly after Baker defeated Harrison. He claimed he lost his job in retaliation for demoting Patrick after he allegedly made homophobic and racist comments, The N&O reported.
The lawsuit was settled for $99,999, one-third of which went to Johnson’s legal fees.
Baker, who called the lawsuit a politically motivated act to discredit him, made “no admission of liability,” his spokesman at the time said in a statement.
NC Reality Check is an N&O series that holds those in power accountable and shines a light on public issues affecting the Triangle of North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com
