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Mark Miles —who began working with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Park Police (MNCPPC) in 2019 — alleges that Sgt. Stephanie Harvey and other white officers “mocked, demeaned, ostracized and humiliated” him because of his race, court documents say.
“Officer Miles endured a hostile work environment and suffered employment discrimination and retaliation throughout the duration of his employment with MNCPPC,” says the suit, filed Monday, March 14.
A spokesperson for the commission told WTOP that the force’s leadership team “does not tolerate racism or harassment in the workplace and will not hesitate to put a stop to any such behavior whenever it arises.”
As of Wednesday morning, several officers involved in the case were suspended and referred to disciplinary process for termination, WTOP reports.
The alleged abuse began in April 2020, when Miles was transferred to work under Harvey, the suit says. Officers referred to him as “colored,” talked about starting race wars and discussed killing Black Lives Matters protestors, according to the suit.
It wasn't uncommon for Harvey and other squad members to make "offensive, sarcastic, and demeaning comments about African Americans," court documents say.
Those types of comments were exchanged in a group text, which Miles was a part of.
Harvey at one point allegedly acknowledged her texts by saying: “Joke, don’t turn these texts over to [Internal Affairs] and get me fired for hate speech," proving she was aware of her illicit actions, the suit claims.
But the abuse apparently didn’t stop with words, the lawsuit alleges. During a "high-risk" stop in May 2021, Miles called for backup — and no one came to his aid, the suit says. Instead, Montgomery County police showed up.
As a result of his coworkers' actions, Miles is seeking “economic and compensatory damages” that would address his “physical and emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish,” the lawsuit states.
The suit is also calls for Harvey's termination and for the MNCPPC monitor employee complaints to prevent future racial discrimination.
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