- Jury leads set for state and federal racial discrimination lawsuits against sheriff’s office
- The captain testifies that he is concerned about retaliation
- Deputy chief accused of making racist comments is on Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh’s staff
- The deputy chief trains his successor before his retirement
A lawsuit for discrimination accused Preble Acton, Deputy Chief support services for the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, to use a racial epithet to describe a black deputy.
Recent court records show that Roscoe Sanders, a black congressman who has filed federal and state lawsuits, has a high-ranking witness: Captain Brad Harrison oversees school resource officers.
Harrison testified Nov. 17, 2020, that he heard the racial epithet from Acton, according to a deposition filed in March by plaintiffs’ attorney Constance Mann of Franklin.
Court proceedings may have been delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A lawsuit document also filed in March accused the sheriff’s office of failing to follow standard operating procedure when the agency learned of the racial slur.
“After Captain Harrison’s testimony and a request for an investigation, the command took no action,” the trial document said.
Since the alleged incident, Acton did not face discipline.
Rutherford County records show Acton was never disciplined during his career with the sheriff’s office that dates back to 1986, according to Sonya Stephenson, director of human resources and custodian of county records.
“She’s still the deputy chief of (support services), but she’s training Major Steve Spence to take over when she retires,” Stephenson said.
Acton is part of Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh’s six-member staff which includes it, according to the agency’s website. The sheriff has final authority over all hiring, promotion, demotion, suspension and firing decisions.
In 2017, Fitzhugh hired Acton to be the head of support services after accepting appointment as sheriff of the Rutherford County Commission.
Acton oversees fleet management, central warrants and records, community services, law enforcement training, facilities management, payroll, administrative services and human resources. She also teams up with Fitzhugh to submit funding requests to the Rutherford County Commission’s budget committee.
The sheriff’s office issued the following statement, attributed to Fitzhugh, in response to the trial charges:
“The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office denies any liability and allegations of improper conduct in this matter. Additionally, Deputy Chief Preble Acton denies using derogatory language or racial epithets. We cannot comment further due to ongoing litigation.
The state’s case, filed in October 2019, also involves a age discrimination lawsuit involving Sanders and his colleagues MPs Kerry Nelson and Ronnie Ralston.
Sanders, Nelson and Ralston claim they were turned down for promotion to SRO sergeant around February 2019, when they had more experience than the chosen candidate.
Rutherford County District Attorney Nick Christiansen, who represents the sheriff’s office, denied that the “alleged” racial epithet had anything to do with the promotion decision.
“Such a comment does not constitute evidence of discrimination in connection with the RSCO’s decision to promote (the chosen candidate) over Sanders,” Christiansen said in an April 4 filing, which asked the court to dismiss the case.
The case is scheduled for a jury trial June 20-24 at the Rutherford County Judicial Center in downtown Murfreesboro. Online records show a special judge presiding over the case — rather than local Circuit Court judges who routinely hear criminal cases prosecuted with the help of sheriff’s deputies.
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SRO captain: racist comment ‘was shocking’
Sanders, through his attorney, filed the federal race discrimination case on September 30, 2021. That lawsuit accused an unnamed sheriff’s chief of making a racist remark. The federal case is scheduled for trial April 4, 2023 in Nashville before U.S. District Court Judge District Judge Aleta A. Trauger.
Court filings filed in state court in March by Mann — Sanders’ attorney — show the name of the leader in question as Acton.
After Captain Harrison mentioned hearing the racial epithet during the deposition, Mann repeated the exact offensive language in question to see if he would confirm what Acton had told him.
“Yes,” Harrison said.
The captain said the words in question were spoken during a one-on-one conversation when Acton asked about the promotion process that involved Sanders applying for the position of sergeant. Harrison told the attorney he didn’t know what to say when he heard the offensive words.
“Yeah, it was shocking,” said Harrison, who confirmed to the attorney that he cried while answering deposition questions.
“I’ve been holding this for a long time.”
Lt. Alan Garner, who oversees SRO, also testified to racial discrimination within the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
“He’s still here,” said Garner, who is black. “I don’t see it as much because I’ve had the chance to come up through the ranks, but the guys below me still see it every day. Things have to change. You know, we have to do something better than what we do.
“We’re still stuck in the past in terms of, you know, having an equal playing field and having an equal number of black and white officers, not to mention it’s time for us to start having more black officers at the supervising post, which we don’t have.”
At the time of the sergeant promotion in question, the SRO division included two black sergeants and one black lieutenant out of more than 60 assistants serving the schools.
Rutherford County Schools has 49,300 students attending 50 schools.
Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Lisa Marchesoni said the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is committed to advancing diversity in law enforcement and corrections leadership by recruiting, training and promoting employees who reflect the diversity of the community we serve.
Rutherford County, one of the fastest growing counties in Tennessee, has reached a US Census estimated population of 352,182 as of July 2021. Approximately 16.3% of residents are African American.
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Harrison: ‘I’m concerned about retaliation’
Harrison also testified that Acton was unhappy with the top five candidates for promotion board sergeant, including Ralston and Nelson.
The captain testified that it was not unusual for Acton to use profanity. He also said he was uncomfortable answering questions about a high-ranking member of Sheriff Fitzhugh’s staff.
“I am concerned about retaliation,” Harrison said in the deposition.
The lawsuit argues that Acton has influence over all personal decisions made by the sheriff, including the drafting of questions for sergeant candidates.
“She was actively involved in the artificial council which met in secret and then appointed the promotion council,” said a lawsuit document filed on March 4. “So Acton was significantly involved in tying the hands of the promotion board and leading the decision.”
Acton also began a meeting that included members of the “artificial committee” and the “valid promotion committee” reviewing candidates for sergeant with an announcement “that was not that (vulgar remark) talking about Nelson”, says a trial. document.
Nelson previously served as an SRO sergeant before the sheriff demoted him in January 2018. The demotion was based on accusations that Nelson made inappropriate sexual remarks and gestures that allegedly offended at least one MP upon receipt of the remarks and gestures.
Captain Harrison also faced deposition questions about whether Sanders had the characteristics to be a sergeant after being ranked fifth out of 11 applicants by an SRO promotion board.
“He doesn’t have the qualities to do that,” Harrison said, adding that he was talking mostly about managerial traits but not leadership.
“These are mostly self-initiated activities, not follow-up.”
Contact reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.
About Preble Acton
Preble Acton is part of the six-member staff Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh. Her career with the Sheriff’s Office dates back to 1986. Fitzhugh hired her to serve as Deputy Chief of Support Services (January 2017). Acton oversees fleet management, central warrants and records, community services, law enforcement training, facilities management, payroll, administrative services and human resources. She also teams up with Fitzhugh to present the sheriff’s funding requests to the Rutherford County Commission’s Budget Committee.
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