Former police officers for the Folsom Police Department are suing the city.
James Dorris, who is of Asian descent, filed his suit on Sept. 6 claiming he faced harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, according to CBS News Sacramento.
“I was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and because of that I would have to deal with racial jokes regarding stereotypical things that describe Asians,” he told the news outlet.
Dorris is joined by two other officers, Homer Limon and Kimberly Moy Lim-Watson, with similar complaints.
According to his complaint, Limon, who is of Mexican heritage, cited a “hostile work environment” where he experienced retaliation because he “participated as a witness in a discrimination or harassment complaint and as a result was demoted, asked impermissible non-job-related questions, denied work opportunities or assignments.”
Lim-Watson, who is of Asian descent and is still employed by Folsom PD per Gold Country Media, claims that the she was subjected to racial harassment, discrimination, and sexual harassment. She alleged that one of her superiors texted “I’ve only been working OT for an hour and I already want to knock Kim Lim the f*** out,” per CBS News Sacramento. It’s unclear who the recipient of the message was.
The City of Folsom issued a statement calling the allegations part of a “retaliatory lawsuit.” Dorris was fired in January 2022.
A 30-page copy of the arbitrator’s findings on Dorris’ firing was obtained by CBS News Sacramento and revealed that he had sent racist texts, discriminatory towards black people, and was dishonest.
