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In their lawsuit, officers allege that the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center banned them from “interacting with or guarding Chauvin,” who is white, “or going anywhere” on the ground where he was being held. The order was given by the director of the detention center, Steve Lydon, the lawsuit says.
“Lydon refused to allow the plaintiffs to fulfill their professional responsibilities because of their race and the color of their skin,” the lawsuit said. “The reassignment of claimants and Lydon’s blatant discrimination shattered trust between employees and management.”
The lawsuit says that “after a while” Lydon met with the relevant prison officers and “denied being racist and defended his decision”, but said he had changed his mind about the order.
In a statement following the initial discrimination charges, Lydon regretted his decision to briefly exclude officers from those areas.
“Recognizing that the murder of George Floyd was likely to create particularly acute racialized trauma, I felt I had an immediate duty to protect and support employees who may have been traumatized and who may have made the trauma worse. by having to face Chauvin, ”Lydon said at the time.
“For the sake of caution and concern, and without the comforts of time, I have made the decision to limit the exposure of employees of color to a murder suspect who could potentially exacerbate those feelings.”
Lydon said at the time that he reversed his decision within an hour.
“I then met the people who were working at the time and explained to them what my thinking was at the time and assured them that the decision was made out of concern for them and was by no means related to a concern about their professionalism. or the security of Chauvin, ”he added. “I realized that I had made an error in judgment and apologized to the employees concerned.”
CNN has contacted Ramsey and Lydon County officials about the new civil trial, but has not received a response.
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