Former officer wins suit against city over retaliation

A Travis County jury has awarded $1.5 million to former Austin Police Lt. Johnny McMiller for retaliation during the tenure of former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo. McMiller’s attorneys, Gary Bledsoe and Nadia Stewart, announced the decision in a news release this week. McMiller was forced to retire in 2015 after trying to “prevent discrimination against an African-American sergeant and an African-American Assistant Chief,” according to their statement. Although the jury found that the department had retaliated against McMiller, the court “threw out any claims of the race discrimination before trial,” the city said.

Bledsoe described McMiller as a rising star in the department whose advancement was stymied by Acevedo.

Bledsoe explained that McMiller was trying to help two other officers in a dispute related to their off-duty employment at Capital Metro. Under the “meet and confer” agreement the city had with the Austin Police Association, Bledsoe said APD should not have been allowed to consider the officers’ actions at their secondary employment.

Meghan Riley, city of Austin division chief in the Law Department, released the following statement: “While we very much appreciate the jury’s time and attention to this employment retaliation lawsuit stemming from a 2015 disciplinary decision, we were surprised and disappointed with the result. We continue to review the jury findings and will work with our client to determine the necessary post-verdict steps to take.”

Bledsoe responded: “If the City of Austin is truly serious about addressing the problems raised by this case (they should) follow the jury’s verdict and make McMiller whole … and adhere to the advice the jurors gave us, that APD brass follow the policies and procedures of the department and stop meting out discipline willy nilly.”