'Your skin is your sin': Chicago cops sue over demotion from Emanuel detail

Published August 17, 2012

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July 11, 2012: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks during Taste of Chicago. (AP)

Eleven Chicago police officers are suing the city over claims they were demoted from the mayor's security detail when Rahm Emanuel took office because they weren't politically connected and aren't black.

"The color of your skin is your sin," the police commander told one of the plaintiffs when asked why he was being demoted and the black officers were not, according to the suit.

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Illinois, contains explosive accusations that the officers had their civil rights violated after Emanuel took office last year.

The officers charge that shortly after Emanuel was elected in February 2011, the city government began to bring people associated with the Emanuel campaign on board -- both those who volunteered on Emanuel's security detail during the campaign and others who were "politically involved."

Within a few weeks, the suit says, most of the defendants were removed from the detail "without just cause or any explanation" and were demoted in title, rank and pay. Meanwhile, they allegedly were replaced by Emanuel's former security detail volunteers and others with a "political connection."

The demoted officers were sent to work in city police districts. Three of the 11 briefly retained their title, going to work on the detail for former mayor Richard M. Daley, but were soon removed from that detail as well and reassigned.

The Chicago Department of Law, in a brief written statement, rejected the claims.

"Any claim that the selection of the mayor's detail was based on political or other improper considerations is completely baseless and false," the statement said, adding that any hiring decisions were made by an interim superintendent and not Emanuel or his staff.

The suit claims the officers were removed in violation of an order known as the Shakman Decree, which prohibits political considerations in hiring. Further, the officers claim race was a factor, as the black officers on the mayor's security detail kept their jobs during the administration change.

Commander Brian Thompson, a defendant in the suit who is black, allegedly told one of the officers "the color of your skin is your sin" when the officer asked about the discrepancy.

The officers are seeking to be reinstated with their old title and salary, and are seeking unspecified damages.