Five Richfield Police officers are suing the City of Richfield for age discrimination. They say they were denied promotions and special assignments because of their ages.
The case was filed in Hennepin County court late last year. It includes Officers Greg Peterson, 51, Souphanny Dean, 44, Brian Rogge, 47, Michael Sieve, 45 and Jeff Hatzenbeller, 54.
“These are not disgruntled employees. If that was the case, they could have probably retired by now,” Burns said.
According to the suit, the department kept the officers from promotions by denying them training, changing the testing process or cutting open positions all together when an older officer applied.
“You have to treat people equally. If it’s not okay for citizens to engage in illegal conduct, it’s not okay for the police chief,” Burns said.
Patrick Burns, the attorney for those officers, says depositions will begin in the next few days or weeks.
(KSTP Eyewitness News, article written by Naomi Pescovitz, 3/14/2014)
