LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A federal choose dominated towards a former Metropolis of Henderson police chief in her lawsuit towards the town and one among its police union supervisors, the 8 Information Now Investigators have discovered.
LaTesha Watson, Henderson’s police chief from September 2017 till she was fired in April 2019, filed a federal lawsuit in September 2020. The go well with claimed, amongst different issues, racial discrimination and hostile work surroundings, violation of her civil rights, defamation and libel. Town employed an investigator to look into complaints regarding Watson that started in June 2018.
Former Henderson Police Chief LaTesha Watson. (Credit score: HPD)
Waston’s lawsuit stated: “Upon taking her position as chief of police, Dr. Watson was quickly the subject of retaliation and discrimination from a ‘good old boy’ network that seemed surprised that she was a Black woman.”
Dueling motions propel former police chief’s lawsuit towards Metropolis of Henderson
Town stated it terminated Watson for creating “an environment of mistrust and division between the command workforce and the unions, which triggered extra issues and distracted from the division’s capability to concentrate on its job,” public data present.
Watson claimed, in her lawsuit, that the town had no coverage in place to deal with or establish racism.
“Although the City acknowledged systemic racism exists, it had no tangible policy to specifically respond to it when it was encountered,” Watson’s lawsuit stated. “This was clear because instead of having a clear path for investigation, City employees disagreed about how to address instances of racism or how to proceed according to policies.”
However Thursday, a federal choose closed the case towards Henderson and one among its former police union supervisors, Kevin Abernathy.
Watson’s predecessor, Thedrick Andres, introduced his retirement after lower than 4 years. Police unions issued two votes of no confidence towards Andres, who stated he was retiring however finally resurfaced because the chief in Cibolo, Texas.
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The subsequent chief, Hollie Chadwick, was fired after lower than two years as the town’s prime regulation enforcement officer.
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Watson’s lawyer, the town, and the police division didn’t reply instantly to the 8 Information Now Investigators’ requests for remark.
