Black Ex-Police Captain Lines Up $400K Settlement in Workplace Racism Lawsuit Against Miami

Update: The Miami City Commission approved the settlement in Dana Carr's employment discrimination case. The resolution passed 3-1, with Commissioner Joe Carollo voting against it.

The original story follows below.

The City of Miami is on the brink of spending $400,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that its police department demoted a high-ranking major in retaliation for her complaints of systemic workplace racism.

During a November meeting, retired Miami police officer Dana Carr and the city's lawyers agreed to settle the case, which alleges that Carr was punished for challenging a pattern of discrimination within the department under then-police Chief Jorge Colina. On the agenda for the December 14 city commission meeting, the settlement is not final until approved by the commissioners.

The federal lawsuit, filed in July 2021, claims Carr repeatedly endured racism and sexism on the job. In September 2019, she lodged complaints with the city, alleging that the Miami Police Department discriminated against her by denying her appropriate workplace resources, leaving her out of decisions regarding her division, and subjecting her to constant inspections and unfair investigations.

"Carr made a formal complaint against the Internal Affairs Unit and the then-Chief of Police Jorge Colina for abuse of authority and the hostile work environment she was being subjected to as a Black female officer as well as the retaliatory treatment of Carr's husband, Ramon Carr," the lawsuit alleges.

In a summary judgment motion, attorneys representing the city argued that the dispute between Dana Carr and the Miami Police Department arose after she became upset about missing out on a promotion to an assistant chief position, a job granted to another Black officer, Cherise Gause.

The city argued it demoted Carr in response to her attempt at "weaponizing" Internal Affairs (IA) by filing a frivolous grievance against Gause.

"Chief Colina demoted the plaintiff based on her complaint to IA because he believed that the plaintiff ‘s complaint (and general animosity toward Chief Gause) was evidence that she was not working in the best interest of the department, that she was not working in harmony, and that she was not behaving as a leader of the agency," the motion argued.

A federal judge refused to grant summary judgment in the lawsuit this past July, finding that Carr's discrimination claims were plausible and ripe for trial.

Carr's employment dispute coincided with a conflict between Colina and the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, a Black police union. The group, whose president at the time was Carr's husband, Ramon, claimed the department was not promoting enough Black males to command staff. The department reportedly had six Black women and three Black men among 36 high-ranking officers.

Tension between Carr and Colina mounted at a November 2019 meeting in which Colina addressed the union's concerns about workplace discrimination allegations and the reprimand he received back in the late 1990s over his use of racially charged language while teaching an undercover cop class. After Colina assured staff he was not racist and that the union's grievances were unwarranted, Carr stood up to speak.

"I have worked in this department for 25 years and have seen a lot of racism, sexism, and unjust behavior. And I have been a victim of all of it. However, how I decided to handle it was to work harder, play by the rules to prove that I can do the job and do it well despite the obstacles. But what I received in return was more obstacles and more sinister levels of undermining," Carr said, before vowing to use her final years in the department to fight workplace discrimination.

Carr filed another discrimination complaint in late November 2019. Weeks later, in January 2020, she was demoted four ranks from major to captain and her salary was "significantly reduced," her lawsuit alleges. (The city said in court that Carr's demotion put her in a unit where she received a "five-percent increase in salary.")

In a video addressing the union's criticisms in 2020, Colina told employees he was committed to staff diversity and reform-minded policy in policing. He said, "I have been here 30 years. You can't hide who you are."

The lawsuit went into a settlement conference last month, and on November 9, Carr and the city reached the $400,000 agreement, subject to the commission's approval. When reached by New Times, the City of Miami declined to comment on the case, saying the litigation is still pending.

Colina retired in early 2021, having served as the city's police chief since January 2018.

Carr — a onetime secretary of the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association — was one of several union members to support the appointment of Colina's short-lived successor, Art Acevedo, who was ousted by the city in October 2021 following a rocky six-month tenure. Shortly before Acevedo left the post, Carr accused the department of carrying on a long "history of allowing corrupt behavior" and isolating officers who attempt to break the status quo.

"Chief Acevedo was brought here to institute reform and he deserves the opportunity to do so," Carr said. "Reform isn’t pretty to police officers because it goes against the blue wall of silence and some of the friends of the family will have to be held accountable, which may include up and to termination. But reform is necessary."

Carr retired from the department in May 2023 after 27 years on the force, records show.