A former Cave Springs officer is suing the city, saying he was fired because he is black and married to a white woman.
Stanley H. Young filed a lawsuit Jan. 17 in federal court in Fayetteville claiming the Cave Springs Police Department violated his federal rights and discriminated against his race in their decision to fire him last year.
The fired officer seeks to be reinstated to his previous position as corporal, with back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages, along with other payment requests.
In the suit, Young states he regularly worked overtime each week, but was not paid the regular overtime pay of time-and-a-half. He worked about 50 hours per week and was often called by Police Chief Michael Caudill to do extra work outside of his regular work hours, the lawsuit states.
Young worked at the police department for five years, according to federal paperwork.
Caudill is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, along with the City of Cave Springs.
Cave Springs police said Young was fired last year for falsifying records, but Young said he “believes race was a factor in his termination,” according to the lawsuit.
Young said the chief reacted negatively when the former officer told his boss he was contemplating filing bankruptcy, with Caudill allegedly saying such action would not be acceptable since he still owed money to people in the immediate community.
Young contends that a white officer in the department filed for bankruptcy and was not fired. He also points out the alleged indiscretions an in-department sergeant, who he said reports “to work while under the influence of alcohol,” which Young said the chief knows about.
The sergeant was not fired, despite the allegations, and “creates a substantial danger to the public since the officer’s impairment could influence his judgment on the use of deadly force,” the lawsuit states.
The suit goes on to quote the Arkansas Civil Rights Act outlawing discrimination in matters of employment.
Young filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which found that the agency “is unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of the statutes. This does not certify that the respondent is in compliance with the statutes,” according to documentation from the federal commission.
A court summons was issued Jan. 17 to Caudill and the city. No court date has been set in the case, according to federal court records.
