Phoenix policeman paid $71,000 while racial slur investigation proceeded

[Bluebear]

A South Mountain Precinct sergeant fired earlier this year for using racial slurs around his officers was paid more than $71,000 in leave as detectives probed the discrimination claims, according to Phoenix police payroll records.

The investigation took 10 months and eventually led to an $86,000 settlement with the Asian-American officer who said he was harassed and threatened with unfair performance reviews after he complained about Sgt. Fred Montaldo...

Montaldo's case is one of 96 discrimination claims against police completed by the Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department since 2005. The department independently reviews police-employee and external discrimination complaints that range from ageism to supervisor retaliation, though most of the cases
prove unfounded, records show.

Marquita Beene, the city's EOD director, said her office has received 35 discrimination complaints against police since July - which would likely lead to a spike in completed cases this year. In an average year, completed cases total roughly half that many.

"I wish more people would come forward, rather than accepting it as part of the culture," Beene said. "(Montaldo) was kind of a bully, but he used racial slurs as part of his bullying."

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/04/12/20100412phoenix-policeman-investigation.html